Plasmon, the Italy-based baby-food brand owned by US food major Kraft Heinz, is planning to invest EUR10m (US$11.07m) over the next three years as part of a new strategy.
A key thrust behind the strategy, which will absorb the EUR10m, is to source most ingredients from its home market. By the first half of next year, Plasmon aims to acquire 85% of its raw materials locally, but noted how some inputs have to be imported, such as bananas and mangoes.
It has also formed an agreement with Italy’s ministry of agriculture for the development of “Italian traceability certification” as Plasmon seeks to offer the “maximum transparency” in its supply chain.
Separately, Plasmon plans to invest EUR3.3m in new technology at its manufacturing plant in the city of Latina, located in the Lazio region, this year and the same amount in 2020. A new production line is being added at the facility to make a new children’s snack, Puff.
Felipe Della Negra, a managing director for Kraft Heinz, commented in a statement: “Forever alongside Italian families to guarantee their children the best in all the different phases of their growth, Plasmon strengthens its commitment to quality, safety and traceability by placing Italy and its food chain at the core of its investments. And we will do it in the name of transparency.”
Plasmon said it invested EUR64m in new technology and production lines at the Latina plant four years ago. The company’s baby food line-up includes meals, snacks, yogurt, biscuits and juices.
The company was the subject of media speculation earlier in the year that Kraft Heinz had put the business up for sale shortly after the announcement of a new chief executive, FMCG veteran Miguel Patricio. While the US food major never publicly acknowledged the plan, later media reports said any such disposal had been shelved.
