Just desserts as R&R buys French ice cream firm

R&R, which has its head office in Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, has bought Pilpa SAS, the ice cream division of French firm Maison Boncolac.

Pilpa, with 154 staff, operates from a factory in Carcassonne, which will add 23m litres of ice cream to the 450m litres that R&R already produces annually.

Fabrice Ducasse, who was previously sales and marketing director of Maison Boncolac, has joined R&R France to become the sales and marketing director of the enlarged French business.

Pilpa supplies own-label ice cream to the French supermarkets and also has a strong presence in the branded sector through products marketed under the Disney, Oasis and Pilpa brands.

R&R said the acquisition would boost the group’s branded portfolio.

Chief executive James Lambert said yesterday: “I am delighted to strengthen our business in France with the acquisition of Pilpa and the strong brands it brings to R&R.

“Our French sales are now at a similar level to Germany and the UK, and we are ideally placed to benefit from the opportunities for further consolidation of the European ice cream sector.”

The sale will allow Maison Boncolac to focus on its frozen appetisers and patisserie businesses.R&R, which is Europe’s biggest private-label ice cream manufacturer, employs 750 people at its three UK sites, including 715 in Yorkshire. R&R Ice Cream was created in 2006 by Oaktree Capital Management, which merged Richmond Ice Cream with Roncadin following its £180m acquisition of Richmond Foods.

In 2010, the business bought Rolland, France’s third largest ice cream manufacturer.

Before the Pilpa SAS acquisition, the group had eight factories, a turnover of 500m euros (£437m) and 2,000 employees in Germany, France, Poland and the UK.

Lionel Rolland, who joined R&R with the acquisition of Rolland, and now has management board responsibility for France, said last night: “We will continue to combine all the best qualities of our French businesses to create a successful and profitable R&R Ice Cream business in France.”