Quebec-based chocolate and sweets manufacturer Regal Confections has acquired local distributor and peer Mondoux Confectionery.
Set up in 1967, Mondoux produces and distributes over 300 Canadian and international sweets brands to over 20,000 retailers in Canada.
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Mondoux’s in-house brands include Giacomo and Yoma chocolates, as well as Sweet Sixteen gummy and liquorice sweets. It also distributes a number of local and international brands across Canada, including Dubble Bubble, Nerds, Pez, Tootsie Roll and Regal.
A statement setting out the deal said the transaction had been “supported” by Clearspring Capital Partners, which bought a majority stake in Regal Confections four years ago, as well as “Regal’s shareholders and banking partners, as well as the Mondoux family and management team who will become partners in Regal”.
When asked by Just Food how long it has held a distribution tie-up with the group, Regal said it was a long-term agreement that could likely go back to “the mid-80s” or earlier.
Clearspring vice president Will Wang said the firm is looking to “expand” Mondoux’s product portfolio across Canada, “leveraging Regal’s expertise in scaling brands”.
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By GlobalDataMathieu Pilon, the president of Mondoux, will keep his role at the company following the transaction. The business will continue to be led as “a separate entity”, Regal president and CEO Hani Basile said.
Basile added: “Over the years, we’ve been a friendly competitor and supplier to Mondoux. They’ve carved an enviable market niche in convenience and gas [C&G], especially in Quebec. In fact, many of our own products distributed in the Quebec C&G channel are sold through Mondoux’s franchise delivery model.
“Sweet Sixteen is a true complement to our product range and allows us to deepen our presence in the ‘everyday’ confectionary category across Canada. I am pleased to partner with the Mondoux family and welcome Jean Mondoux to Regal’s Board.”
Speaking on the latest acquisition, Mondoux chairman Jean Mondoux said: “We are excited to partner with Regal to uphold our family values and foster growth for our customers and brand partners, relying on Regal’s [circa] 65 years of experience representing prestigious brands via its coast-to-coast coverage model across all sales channels.”
More than 200 employees work for Mondoux, which is based across two sites in Laval, Quebec. Its headquarters and co-packing space are situated at a 90,000 square foot facility in the region. The group also manages a 22,000 square foot plant in the same area, which produces its Giacomo chocolates.
Regal has made two other acquisitions in the past three years, which emphasises the group’s “aggressive campaign to reinforce its leadership position in Canada, said Milap Choksey, COO of Regal and partner at Clearspring.
In 2022, the group scooped up Ontario-based Kisko Products, manufacturer of Mr Freeze freeze pops. The year prior, it purchased British Columbia-based Tosuta International Sales, the producer of Koala gummy sweets, for an unknown amount.
Established in Montreal in 1962, in addition to Mr Freeze and Koala, Regal also owns the nut-free chocolate brand Jean-Talon. The group supplies all of Canada’s major distribution points, such as supermarkets, chemist franchises, discount stores and specialty retailers.
