Délifrance acquisition makes Vandemoortele market leader

Belgian Vandemoortele has acquired French bakery group Délifrance to form Europe’s (according to some even the world’s) largest producer of frozen bakery products.

Global ambitions

Vandemoortele’s second acquisition in a week is a major one: following the acquisition of Bunge‘s European margarine and spreads division, the food group is now taking over Délifrance from French cooperative food group Vivescia.

Délifrance achieved a turnover of 930 million euros in 2024, meaning the merged bakery products division would grow to a combined turnover of almost 2.4 billion euros. The French group has more than 3,200 employees at fourteen production sites and is active throughout Europe and Asia, selling its products to retailers, food service channels and artisan bakers.

European market leader

The deal would lift Vandemoortele’s bakery division from fourth to first place on the European – and some sources even say the global – market for frozen bakery products. In the past year and a half, the group has acquired three other bakery companies: Dolciaria Acquaviva and Lizzi from Italy and Banneton from the United States, which also provided the group with its first US production facility.

Analysts were surprised that Vandemoortele succeeded in acquiring Délifrance, as the French bakery group had previously conducted exclusive negotiations with British investment company CVC. Why these talks failed, has not been disclosed.