Orchard Valley Foods and Candeco Confektyr AB recently merged to create the €40 million ($48m) manufacturer of confections, ingredients, and decorations.
Candeco is currently owned by Orkla Group, which acquired a majority share of Orchard Valley Foods in March 2017, according to a release.
“Candeco is a fantastic business renowned for its creativity in product development, delivering innovative solutions to meet customer needs, so it was a logical move to blend our two businesses to support continued market development,” Cherry Blumberg, the managing director of the group, said.
“The combined resources under the Orchard Valley Foods Group brand will not only offer us new opportunities in the global market, but will give our customers unrivaled product expertise and first-class sourcing capabilities,” she added.
Seeking novelty and attraction
Blumberg said that manufacturers around the world are seeking to add novelty and attraction, whether through visual appeal, texture, indulgence or mouth feel, to their confectionery products.
Some of the major chocolate manufacturers, including Barry Callebaut, are also actively expanding their confectionery decorations portfolio.
The chocolate supplier recently purchased the Italian company D’Orsogna Dolciaria and the ingredients unit of Gertrude Hawk Chocolates to strengthen its specialties and decorations business, ConfectioneryNews previously reported.
Barry Callebaut also acquired the former privately-held Mona Lisa brand, which mainly supplies chocolate cups, decorations, shavings and flakes to US confectionery companies, in 2012.
The UK-based Orchard Valley Foods was launched in 2003, and it operates a distribution center in Leominster, Herefordshire. The company generated total sales of £26m ($35m) last year.
Meanwhile, the Sweden-headquartered Candeco specializes in the development and manufacture of decorations and inclusions such as hard-boiled caramel, sugar strands, and decoration pearls.