Grocery distributor GM Marketing has bought Belfast herbs and spices producer FAVOURIT Foods for an undisclosed sum in a move which will create 12 new jobs.
FAVOURIT supplies retail and foodservice customers throughout the island of Ireland and has been in operation for more than 100 years.
The new owners said they will also be building a new production facility at the company鈥檚 north Belfast site.
GM Marketing is a distributor focused on core grocery categories and is home to household names such as Tilda Rice, Fox鈥檚 Biscuits and Nando鈥檚 sauces, as well as a growing owned brand portfolio.
The acquisition is the distributor鈥檚 first move into food manufacturing, GM Marketing鈥檚 Managing Director Gerard McAdorey, said.
鈥淭he brand has so much heritage and history steeped in Belfast; it was an opportunity we couldn鈥檛 pass by. As a business, we are already supplying herbs & spices to market-leading retailers in Ireland, so this is a natural next step in the development of our business strategy and future growth plans.鈥
He said Brexit also prompted the move.
鈥淲ith the complexities surrounding Country of Origin because of Brexit - being a manufacturer and providing Irish produce within Ireland is now key. While this may be our first move into manufacturing, it certainly forms part of a long-term strategy for our future growth plans.鈥
FAVOURIT Foods incumbent owner Sean McCrory has owned the company for the last 10 years.
鈥淭he time was right to pass it onto a partner who will accelerate its growth and drive it into the next phase. We鈥檙e delighted GM Marketing have adopted the brand and I have no doubt, they鈥檒l achieve great success across many markets.鈥
