The Grocer – 10 August 2019

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8 | The Grocer | 10 August 2019 Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Illy brings foodservice

distribution in house

Euro Food Brands has run the division for over 25 years

Elena Cherubini
Italian coffee giant
Illycaffè has brought
its UK distribution in
house as it seeks to steer
the development of the
brand.
Illy has acquired the
rights from Euro Food
Brands, which has man-
aged sales and distribu-
tion for over 25 years,
with the assets and 67
staff switching to a new
subsidiary, Illy UK.
The deal – for an
undisclosed fee – will
see the new subsidiary
take on the distribution
and supply of its coffee
and other products to
the foodservice sector,
including hotels, restau-
rants and independent
coffee shops, which rep-
resents the bulk of Illy’s
UK sales.

However, Euro Food

Brands will continue to

manage sales to the gro-

cery retail sector, and to

e-commerce customers,

a business worth an esti-

mated £130m in sales in

2019.

The acquisition “sig-

nals Illycaffè’s intention

to keep on investing in

the UK, despite Brexit

uncertainties,” the

Italian brand said.

“The UK is a strate-

gic market for us, and

we feel now is the right

time to manage directly

our UK distribution to

really boost our pres-

ence there,” said CEO

Massimiliano Pogliani.

“We decided it was

time to further develop

this strategic market by

strengthening our focus

and efforts.”

Illycaffè said it would

now be able to “directly

steer” the development of

the brand and grow UK

customer relationships.

It is also planning

to hire more people to

manage its UK develop-

ment. Operations will

remain in Brackmills,

Northampton.

Illy acquired London

chocolate maker Prestat

in March as it looked to

develop a wider coffee

shop proposition.

Illy also signed a

licensing deal with cof-

fee conglomerate JAB

Holdings last October

to sell Illy coffee cap-

sules for use in Nespresso

machines, to widen its

reach.

Snacking startup AP

Brands is about to

launch its fourth crowd-

funding campaign as it

seeks £500k for national

rollout.

The crisps, popcorn

and pork crackling pro-

ducer will hit Crowdcube

next Monday (12 August)

offering 10% equity – val-

uing the firm at £5m.

AP Brands plans to use

the funds to expand its

sales team and product

range.

It has previously held

three investment rounds,

raising a total of £489k.

AP Brands makes crisps,

popcorn and pork crackling

Snack startup

AP Brands

seeks £500k

Aston Manor was acquired

by Agrial last August

Profits have tumbled at
cider producer Aston
Manor despite sales ris-
ing 5% in the first year of
ownership under French
co-operative Agrial, as
one-off costs hit the bot-
tom line.
Revenues for 2018
rose to £133.3m from
£127.3m, helped by the
hot summer weather and
England’s success in the
World Cup.
Aston Manor’s pre-tax
profits, however, plunged
70% to £2.1m from £7.1m,
as the business was hit
by £1.8m one-off excep-
tional costs associated

Aston Manor profits plunge in

spite of 5% sales increase

with its sale to Agrial,

best known in the UK as

the owner of salad sup-

plier Florette, but which

owns a number of cider

brands on the continent

last August.

In 2017, Aston Manor

also benefited from a

£4.3m profit boost on the

sale of certain properties.

Other drags on the

business included £700k

lost due to a national

shortage of CO2 in the

summer of 2018, which

caused “significant

disruption within the

alcohol industry”, the

implementation of min-

imum unit pricing in

Scotland, and the col-

lapse of Palmer & Harvey

and Conviviality.

CEO Gordon Johncox

said the business was

focused on a “long-term

strategy” of delivering a

“strong performance”.

Some 3,204 food and drink

suppliers are in difficulty

The number of food

and drink suppliers in

financial distress has

increased by a further

3%, as Brexit uncertainty

and weak consumer

spending took its toll.

Begbies Traynor Red

Flag Alert data showed

Financial woes in

food & drink up 3%

that in the second quar-

ter of 2019 the number of

fmcg suppliers (including

growers) experiencing

financial difficulty rose

3% to 3,204.

Of these, the most

striking spike was

recorded in the num-

ber of struggling cereal-

based manufacturers, up

79% year on year.

There was also a 42%

jump in the number of

homogenised and die-

tetic suppliers in peril, a

25% rise in spice growers

in trouble and a 6% rise

in food product makers

with economic concerns.

UK COMMITMENT

The UK is a strategic market for us, and we feel now

is the right time to really boost our presence there –

Massimiliano Pogliani, CEO, Illycaffè