Hilton Food Group has entered into an agreement with Sonae Modelo Continente to form a 50/50 joint venture for the supply of packaged meat products to Sonae stores in Portugal.
The joint venture will supply a range of packaged beef, lamb, veal and pork products to stores operated by Portugal’s major food retailer.
An announcement to set up a joint venture, which will be named as SOHI Meat Solutions, comes after approximately six months of co-operation between the two companies.
Hilton CEO Robert Watson said: “Our progress in Portugal demonstrates further the strength of Hilton’s flexible and versatile business model, enabling us to meet the local requirements of our customers in their territories.
“This now extends our presence to 15 countries, and we will continue to look for further opportunities for geographic expansion.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Hilton and Sonae will work together to redevelop the production facilities of the latter’s packing and sourcing subsidiary Sonae Centro Processamento Carnes (CPC).
The plant will supply mince, roasting joints and other beef and pork based products.
CPC, which supplies Sonae stores in Portugal, currently sources over 1,000 tonnes of packaged meat products per week.
The companies expect to complete the redevelopment of CPC’s production facility by the end of the second quarter of this year.
The joint venture partners will principally finance the initial investment of €22m needed for the facility.
Sonae Modelo Continente commercial director Eunice Silva said: “We are pleased that the partnership has progressed to a full Joint Venture agreement in Portugal, which will enable us to strengthen the leadership position of Continente further in the development of innovation and the sustainable promotion of the agro-food business in Portugal.”
Sonae is one of leading food retailers in Portugal, with over 1,200 stores and a market share of about 22%.
Hilton is a retail meat packing business supplying major international food retailers in thirteen European countries and Australia.
