Hazem Ben-Gacem: We see attractive macro trends in Asia’s rising middle class, high household consumption of sauces and rapid growth in casual dining, further driving market growth.
Bahrain – Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products, today announced its investment in Heritage Foods (the “Company”), a buy-and-build platform of leading condiments and sauces brands with long-standing heritage in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. The transaction was in partnership with China Resources and Fung Strategic Holdings Limited and concluded through the Asia Food Growth Fund I, a dedicated private equity fund investing in a diversified portfolio of food related companies in Asia.
Heritage Foods was established in 2015 and is principally involved in the investment and reorganization of food businesses in the fast-moving consumer goods market in Asia, in addition to the acquisition of food brands with a strong Asian heritage to expand their global presence.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, with regional head offices and manufacturing plants in mainland China, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia, the company employs over 300 people and has a global network of over 30 distributors in China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Europe and the US. The Company has a diversified portfolio of well-known and established brands across Asia with a long-serving history, including Hamada Shoyu in Japan (established in 1818), Bidor Kwong Heng in Malaysia (established in 1945) and Woh Hup Food in Singapore (established in 1936).
Hazem Ben-Gacem, Co-CEO of Investcorp and Chairman of the Asia Food Growth Fund Investment Committee commented: “Investcorp has an established track record investing in companies operating in the food sector and currently stands as one of the few private equity firms to invest in this sector across the US, Europe, MENA and Asia. We believe that the Asia food sector continues to offer attractive growth opportunities and we see that Heritage Foods is poised to achieve significant scale. The global sauces and condiments market size is estimated to be at $130 billion and is growing at 5-6% CAGR, with Asian sauces accounting for over 50% of the global market. We see attractive macro trends in Asia’s rising middle class, high household consumption of sauces and rapid growth in casual dining, further driving market growth. We look forward to this partnership and supporting the Company in its global expansion plans and realising its full potential.”
Commenting on the conclusion of the deal, Monica Tsui, Managing Director of Fung Investment Management Limited said, “We are delighted for the Fund to achieve this great milestone. Through our partnership with Investcorp and China Resources, Fung Strategic Holdings will continue to deepen our penetration in the seasoning, sauces and condiments sector by leveraging our partnerships access in China, the Middle East and the rest of the world. The fragmented sauces and condiment market in Asia offers many exciting bolt-on acquisition opportunities to further our growth plans.”
The transaction represents Investcorp’s 21st investment in the food and beverage industry in over three decades across the US, Europe, MENA and Asia and is the third that Investcorp made as part of its Asia Food Growth Fund I, following the investments made in Viz Branz and City Super Group last year.
Investcorp has established a joint venture with China Resources Capital Management, the private investment arm of China Resources Group, a Fortune Global 500 enterprise and owner of China’s largest supermarket chain enterprise group, China Resources Vanguard, and Fung Strategic Holdings Limited, a member of the private investment arm of the families of Victor Fung and William Fung. The investment platform primarily focuses on capturing the growth potential and market opportunities in Asia’s highly fragmented food sector.