Lembeke / BE. (lbbv) In the first half of 2019, Lotus Bakeries Group’s consolidated turnover increased by EUR 30.6 million to EUR 298.1 million, representing 11.5 percent growth. Growth during the first half of the year was positively impacted by the sum of EUR 10.6 million since «Kiddylicious» was not yet consolidated last year. In addition, a positive exchange rate effect of EUR 2.2 million was realized in the first half of the year.
Once again, the main organic growth came from «Lotus Biscoff». The internationalization of «Lotus Biscoff», «Lotus Biscoff» Spread and now also «Lotus Biscoff» Ice Cream, forms the first pillar of our strategy. In the first half of the year, the new international TV commercial was launched in support of Biscoff. Once more, in this half-year, the strongest growth was in the large consumer markets of the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and France. Solid growth was also recorded in the Middle East, China, Korea, Spain, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
Biscoff Ice Cream was already successfully launched several years ago on the Belgian market and more recently on the Dutch market as well. As of this year, Biscoff Ice Cream has been internationalized further and supported as a third global category under «Lotus Biscoff». A new international range has also been developed. Plans are in place to launch it in various countries in the coming years.
The second strategic pillar Natural Foods, natural snacking, experienced strong growth once more. For the first time, in 2019, Nakd‘s growth was supported by a TV commercial – in the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands. BEAR is also experiencing strong growth in its penetration and turnover internationally, particularly in the US with increasing distribution in the traditional retail channel. «Kiddylicious» continues to grow in the UK, mainly through expansion of distribution. In addition, the range and packaging is being adapted so that «Kiddylicious» can be rolled out internationally in the second half of the year. TREK is continuing on its growth path, supported by the successful introduction of the new protein nut bar.
The third pillar of the Lotus Bakeries strategy is the focus on local specialities in the home markets of Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
In Belgium, as a brand, Lotus has managed to achieve a particularly high market share and level of penetration among families in recent years. This achievement is due to a strong and continuous focus on our «hero» products in the waffle and cake range. We continue to Focus on product innovations with the recent introductions of the chocolate-filled Madeleine and the Suzy milk chocolate Liege waffle. «Dinosaurus» also grew well in the first half of the year.
The gingerbread category in the Netherlands remained under pressure in the first half of the year. As category captain, Lotus Bakeries aims to reverse the negative trend and bring about growth in the category once more. The management of Koninklijke Peijnenburg is working on an integrated plan for which various initiatives will become evident in the second half of the year.
In addition to the increase in turnover for Biscoff, there was also solid growth for waffles in France once again. France is an extremely important and strategic consumer market for Lotus Bakeries. For this reason, the Group has decided to make Further significant investments in Tv advertising and the expansion of sales teams in the various regions.
Chief Executive’s Statement
Lotus Bakeries’ CEO Jan Boone: «We continue to focus closely on our three strategic pillars and the achievement of solid organic growth in each of these pillars. In addition, we have achieved two major milestones in the form of two new factories on two new continents. The different teams have worked extremely hard to achieve this, which therefore brings great satisfaction. I am also very enthusiastic about the establishment of FF 2032 and the resources we will be able to allocate to this in the coming years. This is a perfect fit for our long-term vision and philosophy. I believe very strongly in this collaborative model and the mutual cross-fertilization which can take place with promising young businesses and equally so business cultures. In view of this, I am very much looking forward to supporting our first investment, Peter’s Yard, on its growth path, together with the founders», Boone said in his statement on lotusbakeries.com.
