Kerry Group

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Irish food company

title: "Kerry Group" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["kerry-group", "companies-listed-on-the-london-stock-exchange", "companies-listed-on-euronext-dublin", "demutualized-organizations", "flavor-companies", "food-and-drink-companies-established-in-1972", "food-companies-of-the-republic-of-ireland", "former-cooperatives", "irish-companies-established-in-1972", "organisations-based-in-tralee", "companies-in-the-iseq-20", "companies-in-the-s&p-europe-350-dividend-aristocrats"] description: "Irish food company" topic_path: "geography/ireland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerry_Group" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Irish food company ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameKerry Group plc
logoKerry Group logo 2020.svg
typePublic limited company
traded_as

ISEQ 20 component | | ISIN | | | key_people | Tom Moran (Chairman) Edmond Scanlon (CEO) | | products | Food ingredients and flavours | | revenue | €8,020.3 million (2023 | | operating_income | €866.0 million (2023) | | net_income | €728.1 million (2023) | | assets | €11,692.4 million (2023) | | equity | €6,522.8 million (2023) | | num_employees | 23,000 (2024) | | parent | Kerry Co-operative Creameries (11.3%) | | foundation | in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland | | location | Tralee, County Kerry | | homepage | | ::

::callout[type=note] Kerry Group ::

| name = Kerry Group plc | logo = Kerry Group logo 2020.svg | type = Public limited company | traded_as =

ISEQ 20 component | ISIN = | key_people = Tom Moran (Chairman) Edmond Scanlon (CEO) | products = Food ingredients and flavours | revenue = €8,020.3 million (2023 | operating_income = €866.0 million (2023) | net_income = €728.1 million (2023) | assets = €11,692.4 million (2023) | equity = €6,522.8 million (2023) | owners = | num_employees = 23,000 (2024) | company_slogan = | parent = Kerry Co-operative Creameries (11.3%) | foundation = in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland | location = Tralee, County Kerry | homepage = Kerry Group plc is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Kerry_headquarters_Tralee_Irland@20160601_01.jpg" caption="Kerry's Main Factory in Listowel"] ::

Given the company's origins in the co-operative movement, farmer-suppliers of the company retain a significant interest in the company.

History

Kerry was founded in 1972 in Listowel, County Kerry as a private company (North Kerry Milk Products) with three shareholders – state-owned Dairy Disposal Company (42.5%), a federation of eight small farmer co-operatives in Kerry (42.5%) and Erie Casein Company Inc. from the US (15%).

In 1986, a significant milestone in the formation of the public limited company involved the Group acquiring the undertaking, property and assets of Kerry Co-operative Creameries and as a consideration 90 million ordinary shares in Kerry Group plc being issued to the Co-op. It floated on the Irish Stock Exchange at a price of 52p per share.

Kerry Group has a long history of acquisitions. In 1982, the company acquired pork manufacturer Duffy Meats and Henry Denny & Sons. In 1988, it acquired Beatreme Food Ingredients, a division of the Beatrice Corporation for $130m. In 2000, it acquired Shade Foods Inc, a US sweet ingredients provider for US$80 million, Armor Foods, a savory flavorings company for US$35 million and Solnuts, a provider of value-added soy-based nutritional ingredients.

In March 2004, the company bought the Food Ingredients division of Quest International, for US$440 million. Then in August 2005, the company acquired Noon Products, a supplier of Indian and Thai ready meals, for £124m.

In September 2012, the company acquired Cargill Flavor Systems, a manufacturer of food flavouring, for $230 million.

In February 2015, the company acquired Rollover, a supplier of hot dogs. Then in October 2015, the company acquired Red Arrow Products, Island Oasis and Wellmune, three businesses in the US taste and nutrition sector, for US$735 million.

In 2021, Kerry was on the list of Industry Outlook's Top 10 Food Additive Manufacturers, in addition to being ranked second on the Top 20 Global Food Preservative Companies list by FoodTalks, a Chinese food media platform.

In June 2021, Pilgrim's Pride agreed to buy Kerry Group's consumer foods in the meat and meals business. In June 2021, Kerry Group also agreed to acquire Niacet for the value of €853 million.

In July 2021, the company acquired Biosearch Life, a biotechnology company focused on the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and functional food sectors.

In February 2022, Kerry Group announced two acquisitions: c-LEcta, a biotechnology company, and Enmex, a Mexican-based enzyme manufacturer.

In April 2022, Kerry Group acquired Natreon, Inc, a US based supplier of branded Ayurvedic botanical ingredients.

In August 2022, Kerry Group acquired the B2B powdered cheese business and related assets of The Kraft Heinz Company for consideration of $107.5 million.

In January 2023, IRCA, Advent International's portfolio company, agreed to buy Kerry Group's Sweet Ingredients Portfolio for €500 million.

In December 2023, the company acquired the lactase enzyme business of Danish companies Chr. Hansen and Novozymes for €150 million.

In December 2024, 82% of eligible Kerry Co-op members approved a €1.4 billion proposal to acquire 70% of Kerry Dairy Ireland and exchange their Co-op shares for direct ownership in Kerry Group Plc. To fund the deal, 2.9 million Kerry Plc shares will be redeemed, raising €250 million, with the balance covered by loans linked to the share price. Members will have the flexibility to hold or sell their shares, while Kerry's dairy farmers will have the opportunity to purchase the remaining 30% of Kerry Dairy Ireland by 2035 for €150 million.

Operations

Headquartered in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, the Group employs over 23,000 people in its manufacturing, sales and technical centres worldwide. Kerry's global Technology Centre is in Naas, County Kildare and employs 800 people. Kerry supplies over 18,000 foods, food ingredients and flavour products to customers in more than 140 countries.

Business structure

The Group operates across two business:

  • Taste & Nutrition
  • Kerry Dairy Ireland

Brands

Brands include:

  • Big Train
  • Island Oasis
  • DaVinci Gourmet
  • Golden Dipt
  • Ravifruit

References

References

  1. "Annual Results 2023". Kerry Group.
  2. "About us". Kerry Group.
  3. (12 October 2015). "Kerry's cathedral of discovery". Irish Examiner.
  4. (2014). "Research Handbook on Sustainable Co-operative Enterprise: Case Studies of Organisational Resilience in the Co-operative Business Model". Edward Elgar Publishing.
  5. "Kerry's qualities make it a good buy". The Irish Times.
  6. Hubert, S. Keyes and T.. (2021-06-18). "Kerry had a profitable meat business with strong brands – and it made sense to sell it".
  7. "Kerry Group Corporate History".
  8. (1997). "Corporate financial crisis in Ireland". Dublin : Gill & Macmillan.
  9. "Kerry in $80m buy from Swiss". The Irish Times.
  10. foodnavigator.com. (19 October 2000). "Kerry buys Armour Food".
  11. "In The Know: Whopper Deal {{!}} Prepared Foods".
  12. (3 March 2004). "Purchase-hungry Kerry Group buys Quest for $440m". Irish Emigrant.
  13. (9 August 2005). "Kerry Group buys Noon Products". The Grocer.
  14. (23 September 2012). "Kerry buys Cargill Flavor System for $230 million". Natural Products Insider.
  15. (24 February 2015). "Kerry Group gobbles up hot dog supplier Rollover". The Telegraph.
  16. (19 October 2015). "Kerry Group Buys Three Food Companies for $735 Million". Powder and Bulk Solids.
  17. "Top 10 Food Additive Manufacturers – 2021 {{!}} Industry Outlook".
  18. "2021年FoodTalks全球食品防腐剂企业20强揭晓：LANXESS，Kerry、天津东大位列前三！".
  19. (17 June 2021). "Kerry Group to sell consumer foods meat and meals business to Pilgrim's Pride". Reuters.
  20. (21 June 2021). "Kerry Group acquires preservation group Niacet for €853m". The Irish Times.
  21. (12 July 2021). "Kerry completes Biosearch Life acquisition". Dairy Reporter.
  22. (15 February 2022). "Kerry acquires German and Mexican biotechnology companies". Dairy Reporter.
  23. (8 April 2022). "Kerry Completes Acquisition of Science-Backed Branded Botanical Extract Company Natreon". Food Industry Executive.
  24. (30 August 2022). "Kerry Group agrees €107.5m deal to acquire cheese business from Kraft Heinz". Food Industry Executive.
  25. (11 January 2023). "Kerry sells sweet ingredients portfolio to Advent for 500 mln euros". Food Industry Executive.
  26. "Kerry Group announces €150m deal to acquire Danish enzymes business".
  27. "Kerry Group to acquire lactase enzyme business of merging Danish companies for €150m". The Irish Times.
  28. Donnelly, Margaret. (16 December 2024). "Kerry Co-op shareholders approve Board proposal to acquire Kerry Dairy Ireland".
  29. "Annual Report 2022". Kerry Group.
  30. (7 October 2015). "Kerry Group Officially Opens New Innovation Centre in Naas". Irish Farmers Journal.
  31. "About EFFA". EFFA.
  32. "Brands". Kerry Group.
  33. (5 July 2022). "Company of the Month June 2022: Kerry Group, "a reminder of the potential any business starting in North Kerry can have"". Business & Finance.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

kerry-groupcompanies-listed-on-the-london-stock-exchangecompanies-listed-on-euronext-dublindemutualized-organizationsflavor-companiesfood-and-drink-companies-established-in-1972food-companies-of-the-republic-of-irelandformer-cooperativesirish-companies-established-in-1972organisations-based-in-traleecompanies-in-the-iseq-20companies-in-the-s&p-europe-350-dividend-aristocrats