Food Concepts Plc, the Nigerian parent company of Free Range Farms, Butterfield Bakery and Chicken Republic, has partnered with South Africa based Pioneer Foods.
Deji Akinyanju, Food Concepts Chairman, said: "The partnership will benefit from the combination of the respective strengths, which will be used to tap into the vast opportunities in the Nigerian FMCG sector to deliver extraordinary value to customers."
The resultant partnership sees Food Concepts' Baked Goods Division becoming Food Concepts Pioneer Limited, with 49.9% stake staying with Food Concepts and 50.01% stake going to Pioneer Foods.
Pioneer Foods CEO Phil Roux said: "Butterfield provides an ideal opportunity to leverage our expertise to grow the bread category. Pioneer aims to be a leading FMCG company in Africa, and Nigeria is a key market for any food company in search of growth."
According to a March 11 report in Nigerian newspaper Punch, Butterfield Bakeries would be housed by Food Concepts, permitting Pioneer Foods to leverage on brand recognition and existing infrastructure. Many operational changes at Butterfield Bakeries would be implemented by Pioneer Foods to improve consistency and increase efficiency.
Quoting a company statement, the report added: "Pioneer Foods is a leading South African FMCG company with a market capitalisation of $3bn; it has globally trusted brands like Ceres Juice, ProNutro, Weet-Bix breakfast cereal, etc. Pioneer already has a significant export footprint in a number of African countries, and the conclusion of this partnership with Food Concepts creates an in-market presence for Pioneer Foods in Nigeria."
