UK – Kettle Foods, an international manufacturer of potato chips, tortilla and nut butters has acquired the British popcorn producer Cornpoppers for an undisclosed amount.
Cornpoppers was established in 1979, as a privately-owned business to supply branded and private-label popcorn products to retailers and wholesalers with branded range of three cinema-style popcorns with speciality flavours such as jalapeño, chilli and lemon, and maple syrup.
“The acquisition of Cornpoppers is the next exciting step in our transition to build Kettle Foods into a dynamic European snack foods business,” said Ashley Hicks, Managing Director of Kettle Foods.
“We’re confident that this will create more opportunities with our trade partners in jointly evolving the full potential of the popcorn category and look forward to welcoming the team at Cornpoppers to Kettle Foods and working with them on making great-tasting popcorn.”
In the acquisition of the popcorn producer, Kettle has showed its continued commitment to the popcorn category, where it remains to be one of the fastest-growing markets within the snack food industry.
By end of last year, Kettle Chips which represents the Kettle’s brand had grown by 10% on the whole due to rising interest in the lighter snacks category across Europe.
This transaction will be completed through Kettle’s European subsidiary, which is based in the United Kingdom.
The acquisition will complement Skinny, another UK popcorn company that Kettle acquired in September 2016, and then sought to roll out in the US despite a trademark dispute from Skinnypop owner Amplify Snack Brands.
“With the support and expertise of the Kettle Foods team, I am delighted about the opportunity for Cornpoppers to expand and bring our snacking talents together”, said Cornpoppers’ previous owner, Balvinder Nijjar.
