Belgian dessert manufacturers Dessert Factory and Verbau have merged to form a new company named Mellow.

Founded in 2007 in Villers-le-Bouillet, Liège, Dessert Factory produces baked desserts lsuch as moelleux and cheesecake. Verbau, which was established in 2010 in Leuze-en-Hainaut, Antoon Verschelden, is better known for raw desserts such as mousse, tiramisu and bavarois, according to a statement.

The newly formed company will now have three production sites based in Villers-le-Bouillet, Leuze and a recently acquired site in Estrées-Deniécourt in northern France.

More than 250 people work across the sites which manufactures private-label dessert products for major retailers, national brand desserts through various licenses and products under their own brand.

Sébastien Dryon, CEO of Mellow, said: “Despite Mellow's growth, it was crucial for us to do everything possible to preserve the human and social values at the core of our DNA.

“That’s why we developed a roadmap that guides the decisions we make on a daily basis: fostering our employees’ development, reducing the environmental impact of our range, fairly distributing profits among stakeholders, and, last but not least, creating strong partnerships are the guiding principles that help keep us on track.”

Mellow said in a statement it is expecting to generate €100m ($109.8m) by 2024, with €120m targeted by 2026.

The company also added that international expansion is a key driver as 85% of its sales are comprosed of exports.

Dryon added: “Currently, our largest market remains western Europe, including Benelux, France, Germany, Spain and the UK. The US also holds promising potential, where we already generate 20% of our revenue.

“What’s next? Further developing our presence in markets like Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, and more.”