The French group Bel, parent company of The Laughing Cow, joins forces with India’s Britannia to turn this market of 1.4 billion people into cheese, the two companies announced Tuesday.
The group born in the Jura in 1865 and which generated a turnover of almost 3.4 billion euros last year is forming a joint venture with Britannia to tackle the “nascent” cheese market in the South Asian giant, according to Ms. Béliot.
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Britannia owns 51% and Bel 49% of the joint venture, called Britannia Bel Foods Private Limited. It will market all of its cheeses under the Laughing Cow brand, the companies said in a statement.
With more than €1.5 billion in annual sales, Britannia is the largest biscuit manufacturer in India. The company also produces sandwich bread, biscuits, and dairy products, including sandwich cheese slices.
This cheese activity joins the joint venture that will also manufacture The Laughing Cow from 2024 in a new factory, within the Britannia industrial estate located in the state of Maharashtra (west).
Bel is spending “several tens of millions of euros” in the operation with a view to “creating a business with a turnover of around 200 million” in India, says its general director. The French group “wants to be the one who created the cheese category in India, to be one of the pioneers, returning to local customs.”
Source: BFM TV
