Griesson - de Beukelaer (GdB) achieves a positive balance sheet for the previous financial year: The sweet and savoury biscuit producer generated sales of 507.1 million euros in 2020. This corresponds to a slight growth of 2 percent compared to the previous year, on an adjusted basis. With 162,000 tons of sales and a market share of 10.1 percent, GdB is continuing to assert itself as a market leader in the German biscuit market1. Around 50 percent of the overall sales were international, mainly in other European countries and in North America. “Overall, we were able to keep our-selves stable in a challenging industry environment with difficult framework conditions,” says managing partner Andreas Land. “We succeeded in keeping production going throughout the whole year. Our focus was and is the protection of our employ-ees with a well-conceived safety concept. We would like to offer them our warm thanks for their dedication in these extraordinary times.”
The strong company brands have contributed greatly to this development. These brands have grown beyond all proportions in the last year. The Prinzen Rolle Cremys in particular, a reinterpretation of the popular sandwich cookie, in the sweet segment, and the crispbread products from the brand LEICHT&CROSS recorded a dynamic growth in 2020. GdB is building on this success with new products in the biscuit segment. A current example is the Griesson Soft Cake Cookie, which appeals to a younger target group of people who are more inclined to try new things.
GdB appears well prepared for the current year, Andreas Land confirms: “We are looking at 2021 with optimism. A vast programme of investments in all sites will allow us to set the course to further assert our position on the market. Over the last two years, we have invested over 100 million euros in our new factory in Kahla alone, fitting the site with the latest production technology.”
As of 1 April, Ralf Brinkhoff will be the new Commercial Director of GdB. The 52-year-old economics graduate has spent the previous eight years as Chief Financial Officer of Semper Idem Underberg AG.
1 Source: IRI, food retail + chemists, 2020.