Mexican bakery giant Grupo Bimbo has become a shareholder in the Netherlands-based bread start-up Zero Carb Company (ZCC).
Financial details were not disclosed by either party.
Through the deal, the Dutch gluten-free bread producer hopes Grupo Bimbo can broaden the distribution of ZCC’s bread.
The start-up said Grupo Bimbo will bring its “global footprint and extensive distribution network to this partnership” but did not disclose specific countries it is targeting. ZCC said in a statement it will “continue to explore new distribution frontiers”.
The company is a joint venture start-up comprising Wiltink, a Dutch bakery, and Box NV, a Wageningen venture builder involved in launching companies.
Wiltink will be the first business to use ZCC’s bread under licence in the Benelux countries, marketing the bread under its Yam Keto brand.
Roel Orsel, the CEO of ZCC, said: “ZCC bread is aiming to reattract consumers to the bread category, [with] a tasty gluten-free, zero carb bread is available. I can say with my more than 30 years of experience in the profession that it is the most profound paradigm-changing development in the bread category I have seen in years.”
Grupo Bimbo has made several other moves in Europe in recent months. The group entered Romania with the acquisition of bakery company Vel Pitar in January. Three months earlier, Grupo Bimbo snapped up UK baker St Pierre Groupe for an undisclosed fee.
In February, the company announced it planned to up its capital expenditure throughout 2023 after investing $1.2bn in 2022. The company’s CFO said the group wants to spend $1.7bn to $2bn this year.
