Unilever has plans to introduce a new Kinder ice cream brand, which will be produced in partnership with Ferrero, said the company’s CEO for South-Central Europe, James Simmons (pictured) in a recent interview with our sister magazine, Progresiv, the leading Romanian FMCG trade publication. The new frozen dessert line will be marketed exclusively in Western European countries.
According to the information, Unilever will begin production Kinder ice-cream in its factory located in Suceava, Romania. The company acquired the facility in 2018, as part of the takeover of Betty Ice, a key Romanian ice cream producer.
Ice cream will continue to be an important focus for Unilver this year. Following the Betty Ice acquisition, the company is looking to double the profits of its regional ice cream business in the next few years. This objective was initially fueled by an EUR10m investment, and will be followed by a second EURO15m one in 2019.
“We want to make ice cream more accessible, considering that in Romania the demand is lower when compared with other European markets. We have the support of Unilever to change things in the next 5 to 10 years.” explained Simmons.
The consumer goods giant also has plans to double the production capacity of the plant in Suceava, which will not only produce Betty Ice’s established ice cream brands, but also Napoca ice cream (previously produced in Bulgaria, after the factory in Cluj, Romania closed down) and the new Kinder ice cream.
“When it comes to the production of Kinder in Suceava, we want to capitalize as much as possible, but we haven’t yet set a target for exports. For starters, we will produce 100 million units annually for the European market, and here we’re talking at least 10 markets. In the future the number might grow significantly,” noted Simmons.
