EXEO Capital has made an investment in Glacier Products, a leading Kenyan manufacturer of ice cream and chocolate products. Glacier Products is the owner of the popular Dairyland brand. The investment is still subject to regulatory approvals.
EXEO Capital is a leading pan-African private equity investment manager. Its Agri-Vie Fund II has invested in Glacier Products, South African fishing group TerraSan, Kenyan flower grower Marginpar, Zambian fish distributor Capital Fisheries, South African beverage and snacks manufacturer Jumbo Brands and Tanzanian tarpaulin manufacturer PPTL.
Glacier Products was founded in 1979 as an ice cream manufacturer and acquired by its current owners in 1995. Its turnover is approximately $10m. It produces mass market ice cream and tablet chocolate (including cooking chocolate), chocolate spread and whipping cream. The company also has a licence agreement with Warner Bros for branded ice creams using Warner Bros characters. It entered the chocolate market in 2015, manufacturing at a new factory in Kikuyu, northwest of Nairobi.
Dairyland branded products are distributed in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Rwanda.
The investment will be used to drive “sustainable growth”. Trendtype believes EXEO Capital is looking to scale the non-ice cream side of the business and try to build sales growth for the many newer products Glacier Products has launched in the past five years. In particular, its chocolate and chocolate spread lines offer significant potential and are currently underperforming, as well as foodservice channels.
