When Activa bought the French desserts maker Mont Blanc in 2003, it had been part of Nestlé but needed significant investment to build on its position in the desserts market. Over the next two years, Activa bought Nestlé’s remaining share of the business plus the concentrated milk brand Gloria and then led a merger of Mont Blanc with fruit desserts producer Materne.
Within three years of leaving the Nestlé stable, the company was a stand-alone force in packaged desserts, having invested in brand development and product innovation and with some of France’s best-known names in fruit purées, milk desserts, jams and concentrated milk. Activa also took the company’s products to the US, where it became quickly established in the fruit desserts segment, before it sold to LBO France in 2010.
The company's growth continued with LBO France, which helped Mont Blanc to nearly double revenues to €368m by the time of its exit in 2016.
CEO
Materne-Mont Blanc
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