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Germany: Unilever sells its pasta sauce range to Casalasco Group
Unilever has announced the sale of its “Tomato al Gusto” and “Speciale al Gusto” pasta sauce range in Germany to Italian food company Casalasco, as part of its strategy to streamline its food portfolio and focus on key segments.
New acquisition for Casalasco: the Italian Group, one of the world’s leading operators in the production and processing of industrial tomatoes, has acquired the well-known German range of “KNORR – TOMATO AL GUSTO” pasta sauces from Unilever.
The agreement for the transfer of ownership of the range launched by Unilever in the 1990s was signed in Hamburg in recent weeks and will be effective from 1 March 2025.
Casalasco, already owner of the Pomì, Pomito and De Rica brands, with an integrated supply chain based on 800 farms, 5 factories and 70 packaging lines, thus enriches its range with another addition that is well-known and appreciated by German consumers, strengthening its positioning in Germany, a country already covered by the Pomito brand.
Tomato al Gusto has been present on German shelves as a ready-made sauce line of the Knorr brand for over twenty years, positioned in the Premium range of tomato-based products, characterized by various recipes with vegetable ingredients up to the Carbonara version, all packaged in 370 and 500 gram bricks.
For a transitional period of 12 months from the operation, Casalasco also obtains the right to use the Knorr brand exclusively in combination with this range of products. The Knorr brand remains in all respects the full property of Unilever.
The products of the “Tomato al Gusto” range, always packaged by Casalasco on behalf of Unilever, will be added to the over 2,300 references that the Casalasco Group distributes in more than 60 countries worldwide, with an export share of over 70% and a consolidated turnover of 630 million euros in 2023.
“With this operation,” explains Costantino Vaia, CEO of Casalasco, “our Group intends to consolidate its presence in Germany, one of the main European markets for food, and to give a clearly Italian identity to the brands distributed globally. The acquisition of the “Tomato al Gusto” line,” concludes Vaia, “is part of the internationalization process undertaken in recent years and will strengthen Casalasco’s position at European level in a strategic segment such as that of red preserves.”
Casalasco will distribute the products on German territory with the collaboration of its historic commercial partner Hengstenberg GmbH & Co of Esslingen, with which it already reaches the market with the Pomito brand.
Sources: esmmagazine.com, corriereortofrutticolo.it, efanews.eu
