Noble Foods Acquire the Serious Desserts Business
Noble Foods, the largest supplier of eggs and egg products to retailers and manufacturers in the UK, has completed the acquisition of the Serious Desserts business, the South Wales based premium desserts arm of The Serious Food Company, for an undisclosed sum.
Peter Thornton the new CEO of Noble Foods, says, "We are all delighted to have completed this acquisition, which is consistent with our stated strategy of diversifying into value added fresh food categories with attractive growth potential."
The desserts business will operate as the newly formed Noble Foods Desserts division and will be run by Managing Director, Andrew Lord, the previous Serious Food Company CEO, and founder of Serious Desserts in 2006. Lord comments "I am really excited to be leading the Chilled Desserts team which will benefit from both improved focus and the strength of Noble Foods retail trading relationships. The Serious brand has great potential and now under Noble Foods ownership, the opportunities for profitable growth are evident."
Serious Desserts currently supplies an award winning range of indulgent desserts into both Waitrose and Sainsburys. The business is based in Llantrisant in South Wales and employs 60 people, all of whom will transfer to Noble Foods Desserts immediately.
The acquisition comes as Serious Desserts wins three Gold Awards at the prestigious Great Taste Award 2008. Serious Desserts has received the following awards:
One Star Gold Great Taste Award Lemon Meringue (Bowl)
One Star Gold Great Taste Award Gianduja Mousse with Sea Salted Caramel (pictured below)
Two Star Gold Great Taste Award White Chocolate and Morello Cherry Truffle
The Great Taste Awards, which is organised by the Guild of Fine Food and often referred to as the Oscars of the food industry, is this year celebrating its 15th anniversary. A Great Taste Award is the authoritative, independent standard for Britains fine food sector: more and more consumers recognise the gold & black logo as the benchmark for independently proven fine food.
However, winning a coveted Great Taste Award is much more than recognition for excellence it is one of the most powerful tools to help grow business in the speciality food sector.
Andrew Lord, Managing Director of Noble Foods Desserts concludes: "We are delighted with these awards. To win three awards endorses the quality and appeal of our desserts portfolio which compliments the Noble Foods business."