Carambar & Co

Carambar & Co, or CPK (Carambar Poulain Krema), is a French confectionery company in founded in 2016. It brings together confectionery brands such as Carambar, Terry's, Lutti, Kréma, La Pie qui Chante, Malabar, Vichy Pastilles, Suchard chocolates, and Poulain chocolate.

Carambar & Co is owned by CPK Holdings, which is co-owned by French investment firm Eurazeo and private investors.[1]

History

In 2016, an investment consortium led by French investment firm Eurazeo bought a set of confectionery brands from American multinational food conglomerate Mondelēz International, and on 2 May that year they were formally amalgamated to form Carambar & Co. The consortium also included Patrick Mispolet and Matthieu Maillot, former president and former CFO respectively of Orangina-Schweppes France, and Pierre Le Tanneur, former director of Spotless Group. The brands purchased by the investors were:

• Carambar, makers of the eponymous chocolate caramel bar, from whom the new company took their name;
• Kréma, manufacturers of fruit bonbons and Malabar chewing gum;
• La Pie qui Chante, a French confectioner known for Michoko caramels;
• Vichy Pastilles mints;
• Chocolat Poulain, a French chocolatier;
• Chocolat Suchard, a Swiss chocolatier and the original creator of Milka, though that brand was retained by Mondelēz;
• Terry's, originally based in York, famous for their Terry's Chocolate Orange.

As well as these brands, the consortium bought five French factories, each making products for different brands:

• Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), manufacturing Suchard and Terry's products;
• Blois (Loir-et-Cher) manufacturing Poulain chocolate;
• Vichy (Allier) for Vichy pastilles;
• Marcq-en-Barœul (Nord) for Carambars;
• Saint-Genest-d'Ambière (Vienne) for Kréma and La Pie qui Chante confectionery.

This allowed all production to be moved to France—beforehand under Mondelēz, production had been exported throughout Europe, including in the Czech Republic, Poland and Spain.[2][3] Since 2018, all Carambar & Co products have been manufactured in France.[4]

In late August 2018, the company announced its acquisition of Lutti, subject to approval from competition authorities.[5] The acquisition of Lutti, the third-largest confectionery company in France, by Carambar, the second-largest, was finalized in October 2018.[6]

Notes

References

1. "Accueil". carambar & co. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
2. Laurence Girard (29 April 2017). "Carambar prend un nouveau départ". Le Monde. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
3. "Hollywood Chewing Gum de Hollywood Chewing Gum". LSA (in French). Retrieved 2018-08-30.
4. Bonbons : le nouveau Carambar veut s'attaquer à la citadelle Haribo
5. André Trentin (30 August 2018). "Carambar-Lutti, bientôt un géant français de la confiserie ?". Le Point. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
6. Le confiseur Carambar&Co se réorganise et annonce un PSE