Acquisition of Food Sense by Royal Smilde

Yuno Advisors assisted the shareholders of Food Sense, known for its children’s food brand Fred & Ed, in the sale to Smilde Bakery, part of family-owned company Royal Smilde.

Food Sense (www.foodsense.nl) was founded in 2003 by former Unilever category managers Wouter Pol and Karin Löwik. With Fred & Ed they introduced a target group oriented brand in the Dutch food retail market, focused on funny, new and healthy food products for children under 12 years of age. Fred & Ed is particularly known for spreads in tubes and sweet bread toppings in a sealable packaging with screw cap. With an aided brand recognition of 70% in its target audience, Fred & Ed built up a solid brand and retail shelve position. In addition, Food Sense co-operates with a number of license partners such as Smilde (HomeMade bake mixtures), Zwanenberg (Kips liver sausage) and Vergeer Kaas (cheese rounds). Both in its branded products as license products a retail consumer revenue is realised of over €10 million.

In addition to its founders Karin Löwik and Wouter Pol, the regional investor Ontwikkelings-maatschappij Oost NL (formerly PPM Oost) and the privately owned investment fund Invest In Future had been shareholder since 2014. With the participation of these shareholders Food Sense was able to invest in a packaging line and make the next step in its company development. With the sale to Smilde the involvement of Oost NL and Invest in Future comes to an end.

Smilde Bakery is growing rapidly by a combination of autonomous growth and acquisitions. With the prior acquisition of HomeMade in 2014, Smilde already made its entry in consumer and branded products. Food Sense and HomeMade have been co-operating in the segment of bake mixtures for children, and both share the ambition of a further international roll-out. With the acquisition of Food Sense by Smilde Bakery both companies are joining forces, and strive for accelerated growth in the Netherlands and abroad.

Yuno Advisors assisted the shareholders of Food Sense in the sale process. Our advisory covered a.o. contacting possible industry partners in the food industry, advising in the deal negotiations with Smilde, deal structuring and the drafting of the transaction documentation.

Click here to find the original press release of Smilde and Food Sense, and here for the press release by Oost NL.