Obela, part of the global international dips and spreads joint venture held in equal shares by Pepsico and Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STRS), will start selling hummus products in Germany. This follows the acquisition of Florentine, a Netherlands based company, in June this year and the establishment of a dedicated production line for Obela at the Florentine premises.
Entry into the Western European market is an important milestone for Strauss. Its Sabra brand (also part of the joint venture with Pepsico), under which it produces dips and spreads for the US and Canada, has become the biggest hummus producer in the world. Strauss hopes that through Obela, which currently produces for Mexico and Australia, it will take a significant market share in Europe, where consumption of hummus is high.
According to IRI, Sabra's market share in money terms of the chilled foods category in the US was 23.8% in the second quarter of 2017. Its share of the hummus market was 57.4%. Its sales totaled NIS 1.33 billion in 2016.
Obela, founded in 2011, has a 38% share of the hummus market in Australia and a 70% share in Mexico. Its sales totaled NIS 31 million in the second quarter of 2017, up 58.3% in comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2016. More than 30 million households around the world currently use Obela and Sabra products.
Shali Shalit, CEO of Sabra, which is responsible for the international operations under the Obela brand name, said, “We are excited to continue our global journey and translate our love for hummus as a tasty, healthy and connecting product, into additional countries. Our experience coupled with our uncompromising use of the highest quality raw materials and production processes, have turned Sabra and Obela’s hummus products into global leaders and the Dips and Spreads JV of Pepsico and Strauss to the most meaningful global company in the space."
Strauss Group CEO Gadi Lesin said, “The launch of Obela in Western Europe is a significant milestone for Strauss Group, as part of the group’s global journey overall and the Dips and Spreads business specifically. Over the past decade Sabra has become the largest producer of hummus in the world and the unique partnership with Pepsico creates real value to millions of consumers globally. We are confident that even in countries already familiar with hummus, Obela’s products will gain traction with local consumers and will thus enable us to continue with our global expansion.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 14, 2017
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