Lotus Bakeries barely affected by Covid

Despite the Covid-19 crisis, Lotus Bakeries experienced another year of growth in 2020. The biscuit maker is also planning a series of investments to increase its capacity.

More profit

Lotus Bakeries will have a turnover of 663.3 million euros in 2020, growing by 8.3 per cent. Recurrent operating profit was also 8 per cent higher than a year ago, reaching 111.1 million euros. The bottom line was 86.2 million euros, an increase of more than 11 per cent.

Despite these strong figures, the biscuit maker also felt the effects of the coronavirus crisis. In particular, the “out of home” channels ( hospitality, airports, amusement parks,…) lost ground. The Natural Foods brands such as Nakd and Bear, on the other hand, were strongly affected by the fact that there were fewer commuters. These ‘healthy snacks’ are typical on-the-go products.

The increase in supermarket sales, however, easily offset these setbacks. Lotus Biscoff (their signature caramelized biscuits) and related products such as ice cream and spreads grew by double digits. The company sold more caramelized biscuits nearly everywhere, and also successfully introduced two new products. In the fourth quarter, the impending Brexit also played a role. British retailers took precautions and ordered more biscuits to build up a stock.

Investments

To meet the growing demand for Biscoff, Lotus is going to increase its capacity. In the upcoming years, new production lines for the Biscoff biscuits will be set up both at home, in Belgium, and the United States. The waffle factory in Belgium is also nearing its maximum capacity and will get a new factory hall with an additional production line. For all these expansions, Lotus Bakeries is budgeting 150 million euro over the next three years.

Natural Foods, which in addition to Nakd and Bear also has Trek and Kiddylicious in its portfolio, will have its own headquarters in Switzerland. The aim is to accelerate the international growth of these brands.