Israeli regulator allows Osem to distribute Haagen Dazs

Haagen Dasz Photo: Shutterstock
Haagen Dasz Photo: Shutterstock

Osem-Nestle formerly competed against Haagen Dazs in  Israel's ice cream market.

In the middle of the blazing summer, the Antitrust Authority has allowed Osem-Nestle, one of the two main players in the Israeli ice cream market, to distribute Haagen Dazs brand ice cream, owned by General Mills. Following this approval, Osem-Nestle subsidiary Noga Ice Cream, which manufactures and distributes Nestle ice cream, will begin exclusive distribution of Haagen Dazs ice cream.

The exclusive distribution services that Noga Ice Cream will provide to General Mills include logistic management of transporting the product to the customer, formulating and managing trade agreements, collection, etc. Noga Ice Cream will not distribute the ice cream of manufacturers other than General Mills in the super premium category. The antitrust exemption granted for the agreement between General Mills Israel and Noga Ice Cream is for six years.

The agreement required approval from the Antitrust Authority because the ice cream made by Osem-Nestle competes with Haagen Dazs in the super premium category. The Antitrust Authority decided to approve the agreement because the market share added by General Mills to Osem-Nestle is insignificant, amounting to only a few percent.

The other important players in the sector of ice cream for home use in the premium and super-premium niches are Strauss Ice Cream, owned by Unilever, and Ben & Jerry's, which operates in the local market through US company American Quality Products, owned by global company Unilever. The US company operates in Israel independently of Unilever's Strauss Ice Cream.

The Antitrust Authority said that the aggregate market share of Osem-Nestle Ice Cream and Haagen Dazs did not exceed the market share of each one of its competitors. The Antitrust Authority noted in its decision, "Even if a competitor is removed from the market as a result of the arrangement, this competitor's business is not enough to have a significant effect on competition in the market."

In effect, the Antitrust Authority believes that the arrangement is an efficient one for General Mills because it now holds a limited distribution system in comparison with its competitors. The Antitrust Authority's economists believe that the new company will lead to a substantial increase in the number of points reached by Haagen Dazs ice cream and a sharp drop in the marginal cost of distributing General Mills' products.

General Mills is a private company owned by General Mills International Business Two (60%) and Bodan Holdings (40%). It manufactures, imports, and markets various food products , including frozen baked goods and cake mixes under the Pillsbury brand, health bars under the Nature Valley brand, and ice cream under the Haagen Dazs brand.

Noga Ice Cream, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Osem-Nestle group, manufactures, markets, and distributes ice cream under the Nestle brand to the retail and institutional sector. Osem-Nestle markets ice cream in personal and family packages under a number of major brands, including La Cremeria, Extreme Giant Dulce de Leche, La Fruta, Joya, Gumigum, Crunch, and Cookilida.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 26, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Haagen Dasz Photo: Shutterstock
Haagen Dasz Photo: Shutterstock
Orit Strook  credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post Finance C'ttee approves NIS 300m coalition funds distribution

The money will mainly go to Religious Zionist party minister Orit Strook's Ministry of Settlements and National Missions.

Dangoor Academy  credit: British Embassy in Tel Aviv British Embassy showcases Israeli healthcare startups

The nine startups participated in the Dangoor HealthTech Academy, a program that connects Israeli startups with the UK healthcare system.

NextVision Stabilized Systems  credit: Shlomi Yosef/Tali Bogdanovsky Next Vision shareholders make NIS 230m exit

A British hedge fund has bought a 2.5% stake in the stabilized cameras company.

Energean CEO Mathios Rigas at the Israel Business Conference   credit: Shlomi Yosef Energean's $1b gas fields sale at risk

The sale of the energy company's asset portfolio in Egypt, Italy and Croatia may fall through because of the buyer's difficulties with the Italian regulator.

Kela Technologies founders Jason Manne, Hamutal Meridor, Alon Dror and Omer Bar Ilan  credit:  Yosef Haim Alterman Defense tech co Kela raises $39m

In response to the events of October 7, Kela has developed a platform for rapid integration of commercial technologies into military systems.

Benjamin Netanyahu  credit: ‎Alex Kolomoisky, Yediot Aharonot Firing the Shin Bet chief: The hurdles

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has "lost trust" in Shin Bet head Ronen Bar. Will this be enough to overcome legal challenges to his dismissal?

Emiliano Calemzuk  credit: PR CEO and "investor group" buying out Reshet 13

CEO Emiliano Calemzuk and the other investors will hold 74% of the television channel, while Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries and WBD will remain with 26%.

Inflation  credit: Tali Bogdanovsky Unexpectedly low February CPI reading cuts inflation

While inflation in Israel in the 12 months to the end of February 2025 is lower than forecast, housing prices continue to rise.

Yitzhak Tshuva credit: Gidon Levy and Tali Bogdanovsky Competition Authority allows Delek takeover of Isracard

The Competition Authority is considered the easier of the two regulatory hurdles that the deal must overcome, the other being the Supervisor of Banks.

David Amsalem  credit  Noam Moskowitz, Knesset Spokesperson's Office Rafael to pay state NIS 444m dividend

The minister in charge of the Government Companies Authority, David Amsalem, has approved the payment by the defense company.

Barak MX air defense system  credit: IAI IAI profit jumps 55%

Israel Aerospace Industries posted a net profit of $493 million for 2024, and ended the year with an all-time high orders backlog of $25 billion.

A TSG system in tactical use  credit: PR TSG signs cooperation agreement with US defense co

The agreement includes the integration of TSG's advanced technologies into sensor-based defense systems, which will be integrated into the operational systems of US defense units.

Bria CEO Yair Adato credit: Kseniia Poliak Israeli visual generative AI co Bria raises $40m

Bria’s Visual Generative AI platform empowers businesses to create predictable, controllable, and on-brand content that aligns with their visual language.

Amnon Shashua and Aviram Ziv credit: Eyal Izhar OrCam stymied by investor dispute with Shashua

Demands by institutional investors are blocking the visual and hearing impairment device developer's recovery plan.

Work on the Green Line credit: Bar Lavi Egged wins tender to operate TA light rail Purple, Green Lines

NTA awarded the tender to Egged, which already operates the Red Line, despite government ministry opposition to one operator for the entire network.

Gabi Seroussi illustration: Gil Gibli Board chooses Seroussi as IAI chair as Erdan freezes candidacy

Israel Aerospace Industries board chose Gabi Seroussi as chair even though he did not to go through the preliminary process of the Government Companies Authority appointments review committee.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018