KP acquires second snack business in three months
Popchips Ltd is a subsidiary of parent company Popchips Inc, which will continue to own and operate the brand in North America and other international markets.
KP Snacks chief executive Mark Thorpe said the acquisition of Popchips, hot off the heels of the Tyrrells purchase, would significantly strengthen the company’s “permissible and better for you propositions”.
“Will Bowler [managing director of Popchips Europe] and the Popchips team have done a great job growing the brand and its distribution over the last few years,” he added.
Bringing the businesses together
“The deal brings together the fastest-growing snack brand in the UK market and the fastest-growing scale snacks manufacturer and we will now be working with Will, his team and the co-manufacturers of the product to ensure the successful integration into our business.”
Commenting on the sale, Bowler said that KP’s expertise would allow Popchips to build on its strong momentum as it expands further in the UK and throughout Europe.
Popchips co-founder Keith Belling added: “The rapid growth and success of the Popchips brand in the UK, which we launched in 2012, has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Momentum in the US
“That success has created a unique opportunity for us to enter in this transaction with Intersnack Group, as well as enable us to focus on Popchips’ momentum in North America and opportunities in other international markets.”
The acquisition of Popchips followed KP’s purchase of Tyrrells from Hershey in May this year. The deal included Tyrrells’ head office and two manufacturing sites in the UK, its US manufacturing capabilities and its subsidiaries Aroma Snacks and Yarra Valley Snack Foods.
The sale of Tyrrells to KP Snacks came less than a year after Hershey acquired the company from previous owner Amplify Snack Brands, which had purchased the company from Investcorp in 2016.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, plant-based ingredients giant Roquette further strengthened its colourings offer with the acquisition of a US-based caramel colour specialist.
