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Dale Farm buys West of Ireland Ice Cream Operation
Dale Farm has further strengthened its consumer brand presence and distribution network in the Republic of Ireland with the acquisition of the trade and assets of Superchill Limited’s ice cream distribution business.
A subsidiary of Breeo Foods, which is divesting its ice cream distribution activities, Superchill Limited has bases in Galway and Letterkenny and is currently a distributor of Dale Farm, Cadbury, Mars, Nestle and Haagen Dazs ice cream products across the north west of Ireland.
Dale Farm took over the business at the beginning of August and plans to integrate it within its established Dale Farm Ice Cream division – already very successful on an Ireland-wide basis with its strong Dale Farm branded product portfolio as well as exclusive all-island distribution rights to top brands such as Cadbury and Nestle.
Confirming the purchase today (15 August 2007) Dr David Dobbin, Dale Farm Group Chief Executive, said: “Ice cream is a core part of our consumer products business and this acquisition is another important step for us in delivering our strategy to grow in added value sales. Dale Farm’s main focus in recent years has been to grow its consumer products sales in Great Britain and Southern Ireland. We have invested heavily in building a first class range of products. This acquisition will give us direct distribution of our portfolio of ice cream products into the North West of Ireland helping us to further develop our business in this region.”
The newly acquired business will trade as Dale Farm Ice Cream and the jobs of the six employees currently employed in the operation will be retained. The Superchill Limited deal continues Dale Farm’s strategic acquisition programme, which has seen it purchase specialist Scottish yogurt and health drinks manufacturer, Rowan Glen, in 2002, and Kendal-based yogurt and desserts business, Parmalat UK, in 2004.
