The largest ice-cream maker worldwide, Unilever, has acquired Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, in accordance with its expansion strategy on the ice-cream market. Talenti began as a gelateria in 2003 and has since grown into the best-selling gelato in the US.
According to Bloomberg, Talenti, founded in 2003 and based in Minneapolis, will generate more than $120 million in sales this year from flavors like Blood Orange and Caramel Cookie Crunch, Unilever said today in a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Talenti’s current range of products includes gluten and dairy-free ice-cream, as well as a vegan assortment. Meanwhile, Unilever’s ice-cream brands include Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers and Klondike and are worth overall close to USD 12bn.
In 2011, Unilever introduced its Magnum brand in the US, reaching USD 100m in the first year, Bloomberg reports, stating further that the company’s latest ice-cream deal was in 2011, when it purchased Ingman Ice Cream Oy AB.