American Simplot buys Belgian Clarebout, Europe’s biggest frozen fries producer

The Belgian potato processor Clarebout Potatoes is entering American ownership as Simplot has purchased the company from West Flanders, the third largest producer of frozen fries in the world.

Scaling up

The American food giant is primarily seeking geographical expansion through the deal, as it had a global presence except for in Europe. Clarebout, on the other hand, only has factories in three neighbouring regions in Belgium and Norhtern France. Nevertheless, it is the largest producer of frozen fries in Europe and is only surpassed globally by North American giants McCain and Lamb Weston.

Despite CEO Jan Clarebout only founding his namesake group in 1987, it quickly grew into a company with billions in sales – a milestone the company reached in 2022. Clarebout managed to raise its gross operating profit from barely 3.1 million in 2018 to 450 million euros in its latest financial year, a comparison between RetailDetail’s and De Standaard’s figures shows. However, a lack of succession and uncertainty about the global economy are now prompting the potato entrepreneur to opt for a major American acquisition. Financial details about this have not yet been disclosed.