Nestlé is working on joint venture with R&R Ice Cream

Largest “private label” ice cream manufacturer

Nestlé is diligently working on a joint venture with British R&R Ice Cream, which would bring all of the Swiss company’s ice activities from Europe, Egypt, the Philippines, Brazil and Argentina in one joint venture. Its European frozen food division (excluding its frozen pizza division) would also move to the new joint venture. Talks are in an advanced stage, Nestlé said.

Investment firm PAI Partners owns British R&R Ice Cream and it says it is the largest private label ice cream manufacturer in Europe. It also creates the icing equivalents for Mars, Snickers and Oreo. The British company would bring all of its activities into the joint venture.

Nestlé and R&R have done business together before: they have a 14-year long collaboration, first in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and now also in Australia and South Africa, where R&R owns the license to several Nestlé products. The goal is to give both companies half of the joint venture, which should be launched in 2016. The new company will employ 10,000 people and have a presence in more than 20 countries. 

“Combining the capabilities of our two companies in this way would offer an exciting opportunity for future growth in a dynamic category”, Nestlé’s Belgian CEO Paul Bulcke said. No financial information about the joint venture was revealed.