A lot is going on in the dairy industry, a sector with significant weight for Greece and a large export footprint, that is part of the Mediterranean diet that remains popular globally.
The catalyst for the big changes is the large American fund CVC Capital Partners, which continues to invest in our country, as after the very recent acquisition of Vivartia for a total price of 630 million euros, it reached an agreement for the acquisition of a majority stake in the Dodoni dairy industry.
A move that is making waves in the industry, as sources say that the fund has its eye on other players in the industry.
The structure of the CVC agreement with the parent company of Dodoni, shows that the two sides will cooperate on a stable basis and there may be a plan to work together in other areas.
Also, the cooperation of the Vivartia subsidiary (Delta) with the large French industry Danone, was announced yesterday with the first to undertake the production of the Activia series in Greece. Through this collaboration, the Activia line is enriched with the first strained yogurt with probiotics, produced in Greece.
CVC Capital did not directly acquire Dodoni, but came to an agreement to acquire a majority stake in SI Foods, which is a major shareholder in the Dodoni SA dairy industry, in order to indirectly take control of it, while creating a new cooperation scheme with SI Foods, controlled by Russian funds.
Under the agreement, the owners of SI Foods remain active shareholders, maintaining the management of Dodoni, its subsidiaries and its operations. As noted in the announcement, this cooperation will be the basis for both SIF and Dodoni, for further development mainly in the category of cheese products, as well as in similar categories of food through investments and possible acquisitions both in Greece and abroad.
Internationally, yoghurt is increasingly coming to the fore as a gourmet and health choice, while it is perhaps the most up-and-coming Greek food brand. After oil, feta, fish (fish farming) and perhaps wine, yoghurt is Greece’s next possible top export product with huge margins for further development.
This is the reason why all dairy companies without exception, such as FAGE, Delta, Olympus, Mevgal, Kri Kri, Dodoni, Evrofarma, EVOL, Koukaki Farm etc. are investing large sums in new yoghurt lines, launching new products, developing existing ones, specializing categories (children, diet, gluten free, etc.) and showing how much they believe in the product.
There is a steady decline in milk consumption worldwide, but yogurt maintains excellent momentum, as it belongs to the category of the gourmet and Mediterranean diet, which is constantly gaining ground internationally. The yoghurt market in Europe - which is the largest market in the world - reaches 3.5 billion euros. The turnover of the Greek type of yogurt exceeds 1 billion euros in the European market, while no other food product has a similar momentum, with exports increasing geometrically year by year.
APOSTOLOS SKOUBOURIS