Nexture, the food ingredients platform owned by Investindustrial, is set to purchase Dubai-based chocolate and ingredients producer La Crema. The transaction will establish Nexture’s first manufacturing operation in the Middle East and extend Investindustrial’s ongoing buy-and-build programme in the region.
Dubai becomes Nexture’s regional production base
Bilal Khalife founded La Crema in 2016 as a trading company focused on the HoReCa market. Two years later, the business moved into manufacturing and has since developed an integrated model combining production with distribution through wholesalers, distributors and retailers. Its portfolio of chocolate and speciality ingredients serves ice cream, bakery and fine pastry manufacturers. The Dubai site employs around 170 people across manufacturing, operations, sales and marketing.
Nexture was created after Investindustrial acquired CSM Ingredients in 2021. Through La Crema, the group will gain an established operating base in a market it identifies as one of the fastest-growing ingredient markets worldwide, while also improving its ability to supply customers throughout the wider Middle East.
Expanding into chocolate
Valerie-Diele Braun, chief executive officer of Nexture, described the acquisition as a move that advances both the company’s geographic reach and its product offering: “This acquisition marks an important step in Nexture’s global growth strategy, establishing our first manufacturing footprint in the Middle East and giving us direct access to one of the world’s fastest-growing ingredients markets. La Crema is a natural fit for our portfolio, adding a rich and diversified chocolate offering to our value-added solutions and unlocking meaningful synergies across the Group.”
Bilal Khalifeh, Chief Executive Officer of La Crema, highlighted the region’s commercial potential: “The UAE and the broader Gulf region represent a strategic pillar of Nexture’s expansion plans. The region’s strong macro-economic fundamentals, rapid population growth and increasing demand for high-quality, specialised food ingredients creates a highly compelling environment to grow.”
Another step in Investindustrial’s regional strategy
La Crema represents Investindustrial’s third add-on acquisition in the Middle East since 2024. It also contributes to a wider record of 281 add-on transactions across more than 30 countries, representing a combined enterprise value of €14.1 billion. The purchase follows Nexture’s acquisitions of Frulact and Sipral Padana earlier in 2026 and reinforces Investindustrial’s stated ambition to develop local market leaders into international businesses.
The firm’s regional expansion is not limited to food ingredients. Portfolio businesses such as Ermenegildo Zegna, Eataly, Flos B&B Italia Group and Omnia Technologies have also entered or expanded their presence in the UAE. Investindustrial presents this activity as part of a sustained commitment to the region, including its foundation’s collaboration with the Transition Investment Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi.
Emanuela Cisini, Partner and Head of the Middle East and Asia at Investindustrial, said: “Through La Crema, Nexture will gain an established manufacturing platform in the UAE, strong local relationships and direct access to a fast-growing market. We believe there is significant opportunity to combine local entrepreneurial expertise with Nexture’s global capabilities to accelerate innovation, strengthen customer partnerships and support the company’s next phase of growth.”
Strategic significance
The acquisition highlights Investindustrial’s focus on markets with stronger growth prospects than its established European base. For Nexture, it adds chocolate to a portfolio largely developed through CSM Ingredients while simultaneously creating a physical presence in the Middle East. The deal therefore addresses two priorities at once: widening the company’s category offering and establishing a regional manufacturing platform.
La Crema, meanwhile, will gain access to the financial resources, technical capabilities and international customer network of a global investment group. That support arrives as demand across the Gulf for premium and specialised ingredients continues to develop, influenced by food and beverage industry trends and changing food and drink consumer trends.
The new platform could also support future opportunities linked to food manufacturing trends, food processing technology and food distribution trends. As customers respond to developments in food and drink industry innovation, food and drink sustainability, food and drink regulations, food and drink packaging and food and drink marketing, Nexture will be positioned to combine local market knowledge with its broader resources.
Andrea C. Bonomi, chairman of the Investindustrial industrial advisory board, called the transaction an important milestone for Nexture. More broadly, the deal may serve as a model for Investindustrial’s continued effort to use regional businesses as foundations for further growth across the Middle East.
Completion remains dependent on standard closing requirements, including receipt of regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026.
