Steenderen, September 25, 2020, today Aviko, one of Europe’s largest producers of fresh, frozen,
dried and specialty potato products and part of Royal Cosun, announces the acquisition by Aviko
Rixona of Unilever’s factory in Stavenhagen, Germany. Aviko Rixona is a global, leading manufacturer
of potato granules and potato flakes that find their way to the food service channel and retail markets
through the food industry.
Strategic partnership
The transaction includes the acquisition of the production location in Stavenhagen in Northeast
Germany and a long-term strategic partnership with Unilever. The factory in Stavenhagen processes
potatoes into branded products (mashed potatoes, dumplings, gnocchi and instant snacks) and
products for other Unilever branches and B2B customers. Well-known brand names are Pfanni and
Knorr. The Stavenhagen site employs approximately 210 people. The ownership of the brands remains
with Unilever. The long experience of the production site, its technologies and the expertise of the
people will further strengthen Aviko Rixona’s position as leading manufacturer of potato flakes and
granules.
Towards global market leadership
“Totalworldwide demand for potato granules and flakes is constantly increasing and is partly driven by
a strong growth in the demand for salty snacks on all five continents”,said Chris Deen, CEO Aviko
Group, to which Rixona belongs. “This acquisition ties in seamlessly with Rixona’s ambition to become
the world market leader in potato granules and flakes. We intend to fully utilise Stavenhagen’s
potential production capacity. The additional volume and extra sales will further strengthen our
position and support our ambitious growth trajectory”, concludes Deen.
“We are very pleased with this acquisition, which is fully aligned to Cosun’s ambition to obtain a
leading position in plant-based ingredients”, confirms Albert Markusse, CEO Royal Cosun. “The
expansion of the production capacity and the strategic partnership with Unilever are in line with the
positive development of the potato flakes and granules market”, says Markusse.
The transaction has been notified to the German competition authority and is expected to be
completed before the end of the year.
About Aviko and Royal Cosun
With activities in more than 110 countries and production locations in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Poland and China, Aviko is one of the four largest potato processing producers in the world. The company is part of Royal Cosun, an agro-industrial cooperative with an annual turnover of over 2 billion euros and the ambition to unlock the potential of plants into every day solutions for food, feed and non-food, such as plant-based food and ingredients and biobased non-food applications and green energy.
More information can be found on www.aviko.com and www.cosun.com
For questions about this press release, please reach out to:
Contact Aviko Rixona: Robin den Dekker
R.dendekker@rixona.nl
+31 6 5367 6858
Contact Royal Cosun: Birgit Kamp
Birgit.Kamp@cosun.com
+31 76 530 3242
