Belgian Meli and the largest honey producer of the Netherlands de Traay are joining forces. Both brands will continue to exist separately and will retain their locations in respectively Veurne and Lelystad.
Cosmetics
The takeover is intended to strengthen the position of both family businesses in the European market. The joint volume is about 20 million kilograms of honey a year. De Traay does not only produce honey but also has an extensive organic range and a series of natural cosmetics. “We want to keep innovating, but honey will always be at the foundation,” Meli CEO Koen Steurbaut tells Belgian newspaper De Tijd.
The fusion has no direct operational consequences. Both companies will remain active under their own names and with their own employees in respectively Veurne and Lelystad.
Amusement park
Meli was founded in 1925 by Alberic Florizoone. Ten years later, he opened the Bee Palace in Adinkerke, an educational cafeteria with a playground that would later develop into the Meli Park. In 1999, the amusement park was sold to Belgian entertainment company Studio 100 and was replaced by Plopsaland. Today, the Florizoone family no longer holds any operational positions in the honey company, but still holds a seat on the board of directors and is still the owner of Meli.
