Vandemoortele announced the acquisition of Dolciaria Acquaviva SpA from Apheon, a mid-market private equity firm, and the Acquaviva family. The Italian business is an established manufacturer of frozen pastry, patisserie, and savory specialties. Pierluigi Acquaviva will continue to be part of Acquaviva as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The terms of the transaction, which is sxected to be concluded soon, were not disclosed.
Founded in 1979 by the Acquaviva Family as an artisanal laboratory of Neapolitan specialties, the company made a name for itself as a frozen bakery manufacturer in Italy, with a wide product portfolio.
Headquartered in Gricignano d’Aversa (Caserta), Dolciaria Acquaviva had a turnover of around EUR 120 million in 2023 and has over 200 employees. It runs four industrial plants in Italy, which serve more than 40,000 HoReCa customers daily across Italy.
“We are happy to welcome Dolciaria Acquaviva into the Vandemoortele family,” said Jean Vandemoortele, Chairman of the Board of Vandemoortele. “This strategic acquisition strengthens our market presence in Italy and aligns with our vision of providing exceptional products and experiences to our customers.”
Yvon Guérin, CEO of Vandemoortele, also commented: “We will combine our strengths and expertise to drive continued growth. This combination will allow us to create powerful synergies in terms of product portfolio, brands, innovation and distribution in one of the countries where Vandemoortele has been active for some time and which makes a substantial contribution to the group’s total turnover.”
“The Italian team and I are particularly proud of this agreement”, said Sabine Sagaert, Managing Director Bakery Products, “as we appreciate the strong entrepreneurial spirit of Acquaviva and the real passion for quality and innovation. We are highly complementary and will be able to offer our Italian customers a wider range of high-quality products across sweet and savory pastry, patisserie, bread specialties, pizza and focaccia.”
Pierluigi Acquaviva, the company’s founder, also commented: “We are very happy about the combination of Acquaviva and Vandemoortele in Italy as it will give exciting opportunities to our Italian customers and partners and employees.”
Present in 12 EU countries and the USA, Vandemoortele Group focuses on Italy, which is its second-largest market, with a brand portfolio including Agritech (bread), Lanterna (focaccia and pizza), Banquet D’Or (sweet pastry), Doony’s (donuts), Patisserie du Chef (patisserie).
With head offices in Genova and Milan, the Belgian company has two manufacturing plants in Genova (savory) and Ravenna (bread and savory). It distributes its products in HoReCa and retail channels.
Photo: Dolciaria Acquaviva social media
