Global taste and nutrition company Kerry has announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Jining Nature Group. The company is a Chinese manufacturer of savoury flavours, seasonings and prepared food products and holds positions nationwide in the savoury flavour and prepared foods sectors in China. Kerry claims the acquisition will bring a wide range of authentic local and regional taste technologies and application capabilities to its portfolio.

Kerry says the Jining Nature Group, which has more than 300 employees, will help expand its China customer base by providing deeper access to the country’s large regional markets via existing and well-established distribution and foodservice channels.

It is hoped it will enhance Kerry’s savoury flavour manufacturing capabilities in the Asia Pacific market and will enable the company to offer a full suite of savoury offerings in the region alongside its existing comprehensive sweet and beverage flavour portfolios.

“This acquisition will be an important component of our global savoury taste strategy and, as a highly respected leader in the savoury taste marketplace in China, will allow us to accelerate our leadership in the key categories of Meat, Snacks and Instant Noodles,” said John Savage, CEO of Global Taste at Kerry.

“The deep understanding from the Jining Nature team of local cuisine will enable us to create truly authentic taste solutions across a wide range of application and channels.

“In addition, the capabilities in Jining Nature are highly complementary to our Authentic Savoury platform which includes Smoke, Stocks and Fermentation along with a leading portfolio of Savoury Flavours.

“The potential for this acquisition, when coupled with our long-standing business in China and wider savoury capability, is hugely exciting.  On behalf of the entire Kerry organisation, I’m pleased to welcome the Jining Nature Group and its employees to our team,” he added.

Jining Nature Group, which consists of Shandong Tianbo Food Ingredients Co., Ltd. and the business of Jining Nature Food Co., was founded in 2000 and has since grown to be one of the largest savoury flavour manufacturers in China.

The group has two production facilities in Shandong province, in eastern China, which manufactures the company’s range of products. According to Kerry, Jining has a team of more than 300 employees, including a research and development team comprised of 70 scientists, engineers, chefs, chemists and flavourists.