Belgium’s Vandemoortele has acquired full ownership of US-based bakery counterpart Banneton, securing the remaining shares in the company.
The financial specifics of this acquisition remain undisclosed, following Vandemoortele’s earlier purchase of an 80% stake in Banneton in 2024.
On August 3, Vandemoortele released a statement emphasizing that this acquisition “marks a major milestone” for its strategy in North America, as it establishes a domestic manufacturing presence in the US.
The family-run business highlighted that “Combining Vandemoortele’s European import infrastructure with Banneton’s domestic production plant provides a flexible, hybrid model that streamlines logistics and quickly meets customer demands.”
Banneton will continue to operate under its original brand.
Following the closure of the deal, Alexandre Bloch, who previously worked with Vandemoortele’s French division, will assume the role of operations manager.
Established in 2008, Banneton manufactures croissants and pastries at its facility located in Swedesboro, New Jersey. Their products reach customers through various retail, foodservice, and bakery channels across the United States.
Prior to the 2024 agreement with Vandemoortele, Banneton was owned by private-equity firm Encore Consumer Capital as well as its founders, Victor and Alex Litinetsky.
Curt Coolidge, general manager at Vandemoortele North America, expressed enthusiasm about the integration of the Swedesboro facility, stating: “We are excited to fully integrate the Swedesboro facility into our operations, allowing us to deliver the ultimate one-stop-shop experience for authentic, premium freezer-to-oven croissants and pastries.”
Vandemoortele specializes in frozen bakery goods and plant-based ingredients, operating production sites in twelve European nations and offering its products in over 95 countries, including the US and Canada.
Additionally, Vandemoortele announced its acquisition of Délifrance early last year, forming a bakery business with a projected combined revenue of €2.4 billion (approximately $2.6 billion at that time).
However, this agreement faced regulatory scrutiny in the UK and Europe. The deal received conditional approval from the European Commission last year after Vandemoortele agreed to divest two French facilities located in Avignon and Béthune, although the company has not yet found buyers for these sites.
As a result, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) initiated a Phase 2 investigation into the merger in April. In June, Vandemoortele proposed to sell its factory in Worcester, UK, to alleviate these concerns, and the company is currently awaiting further directives from the CMA.