110 million sausages per year
Bifi is largely produced in the German city of Ansbach and it is mainly popular in Germany, Austria, the
Netherlands and Belgium – and in Great
Britain, under the name of Peperami. Each year some
110 million sausages are sold, worth 80 million euro in turnover.
Unilever put Bifi up for sale this summer, attracting industrial candidates, more so than investment funds. By
the end of November it became clear that the most likely buyer was Kerry Group, best known for a similar type of snack, Mattesons Fridge Raiders, which
generates a turnover of 6 billion euro per year.
Bifi’s sale is part of Unilever CEO Paul Polman’s strategy to drastically
reduce the amount of brands the Dutch-British company has. That has led to a huge reduction in brands since the turn of
the century: from 1,600 to 400 now.
(Translated by Gary Peeters)
