Grupo Bimbo Acquires Popcornopolis During Record Q3
Grupo Bimbo picked up the Popcornopolis brand for its Barcel USA snack division, acquiring the company from private equity firm NexPhase Capital and marking its entrance into the U.S. popcorn category.
Headquartered in Mexico City and No. 52 on CGT’s Top 100 Consumer Goods Companies ranking, Grupo Bimbo reported year-year-over net sales increase of 2.9% in the third quarter, to 44.27 billion Mexican pesos (about $2.15 billion).
It was a record quarter for the company, primarily driven by strong volume and pricing mix. Gross profit grew 1.2% during the period.
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Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the acquisition was completed during the third quarter, the snack company reported within its earnings statement.
Founded in 2003, Popcornopolis manufactures ready-to-eat popcorn snacks that may be best known for their cone-shaped packaging. The company sells the small-batch products through food, drug, mass, club and convenience channels, as well as e-commerce.
Popcornopolis received investment from NexPhase in 2019 in order to grow its direct-to-consumer business and food, drug and mass channels. As part of this, it launched a new line of snack products to complement its gifting portfolio.
The global ready-to-eat popcorn market is expected to reach $6.22 billion in 2026, according to a report published by Fior Markets in March 2020, up from $2.53 billion in 2018.
"We have only scratched the surface of the potential of this brand, and we are excited to introduce more consumers to our wildly delicious, indulgent popcorn as part of Barcel USA's leading snack platform," said Danny Simon, Popcornopolis CEO, in a statement.
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Grupo Bimbo also completed the acquisition of bread manufacturer Kitty Bread during the quarter, as well as Aryzta’s QSR business in Brazil. Kitty Bread is a leading bread producer in India, while Aryzta do Brasil produces bread products and has a growing bakery category.
All three acquisitions are expected to help the company strengthen its market positions in each region, Alfred Penny, president of its Bimbo Bakeries USA group, said in a call with investors.
- Insights from Grupo Bimbo at CGSM 2021
José Antonio Parra, Grupo Bimbo VP, global information and digital transformation and a member of the CGT/RIS Executive Council, will speak at the Consumer Goods Sales and Marketing Summit in December. Presenting within "Getting More Granular to Create Meaningful Experiences,” the exec will share how the company is investing within its data capabilities to form stronger connections with both consumers and retail partners. Register here.
