Vivartia

History

Vivartia is the result of the merger of Delta Holding S.A., which included Delta Dairy Products, Goody's, Flocafé and Mechelany foods as well as a dozen other major Greek food and beverages related corporations of the nutritions field, with the snack and bakery business lines of Chipita. Its transition deal name was “Brand Co” and was officially changed to Vivartia in May 2006 when the merger was completed. It created the largest food group in Greece, one of the top ten companies in Greece and the 35th largest food group in Europe. The merger was voted "Deal of the Year 2006". After the merger was complete, the company changed its name to Vivartia S.A.

During the next 18 months the transformation strategy was completed with further acquisitions, disposals and restructurings. Jenk left Vivartia in 2006 and Daskalopoulos in 2007, when the majority of Vivartia's share were acquired by Marfin Investment Group.

It now consists of various divisions aimed at different aspects of the field. These are:

• Dairy & Beverages Division (formerly Delta)
• Frozen Foods Division (Barba-Stathis)
• Catering Services & Entertainment Division (Goody's, Flocafé)

Domestic activities

In 2005 it won PDO designation for feta cheese.

Vivartia has been subject to accusations of collusion. In December 2007 Vivartia was initially found guilty of colluding with other milk producers (Nestlé, Fage, Mevgal and Olympos) to fix milk prices in Greece to the disadvantage of the consumer. A contested decision as milk prices are regulated by the European Union (and Greek authorities) as well as the unlawful actions of certain Greek civil servants. Management have never been charged with wrongdoing. Yet the State's Prosecuting agent investigating this case against Vivartia and Mevgal, Panayotis Adamopoulos, was jailed for bribery and extortion attempts against the companies.

International expansion

In the Balkans, Vivartia is active in Serbia and Bulgaria and is interested in tapping the rising consumer demand elsewhere in the region and in Russia.

Outside of Europe Vivartia is also active in Egypt and Mexico.

In 2007, Vivartia plans to expand into organic farming in Romania and into fast-food chain franchising in Serbia.

In 2008, Vivartia bought US biscuit and snack-producer Nonni's for $320 million as part of its expansion plans, along with its brands Nonni's and New York Style and Old London. The acquisition also ensured an entry of Vivartia's 7 Days croissant products to the US market, to be followed by other products at a later stage. In that same year, Vivartia also announced plans to open a new plant in Yadkinville to complement its six existing US plants. As of March 2010, Vivartia now produces and sells 7-Days Croissants in the United States.

In 2014, Vivartia announced a cooperation with Granarolo for market access to France and Italy. This arrangement reflects a continuation of the original strategy put in place in 2003.

References

References

1. [https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.vivartia_holding_sa.28c3f0c52f19689888c525252774c5ee.html Profiles. Vivarta Holding SA]dnb.com {{Webarchive. link. (2022-02-03)
2. "Με 600 εκατ. έκλεισε η εξαγορά της Vivartia".
3. link. (2014-12-30 ).)
4. "Creation of largest food group in Greece".
5. [http://www.vivartia.com/?page_id=2918&lang=en our history] vivartia.com
6. [http://www.tovima.gr/finance/finance-business/article/?aid=332043 ΣΠ. ΘΕΟΔΩΡΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ Και πάλι μπίζνες με την Chipita] (in Greek). [[To Vima]]
7. PR Newswire. (20 December 2005). "Creation of the Largest Company in the Food Sector in Greece, a Power-House of Leading Food Brands, With Significant Scale in the European Market".
8. Gleadell, Colin. (14 June 2010). "Dimitris Daskalopoulos Interview". The Telegraph.
9. Newman, Matthe w. (25 October 2005). "Greece Wins Exclusive Use of Feta Name at EU Court". Bloomberg.
10. (23 November 2011). "Greek dairy companies keep prices high". Greek Reporter.
11. "Nestle, Vivartia fined in Greek milk price probe".
12. (1 November 2006). "Greece faces tough struggle to fight resurgent organized crime". The Free Library.
13. (13 April 2009). "Senior Greek officials convicted in bribe scandal". Dalje.
14. Staff. (March 7, 2008). "Greece's Vivartia to buy Nonni's American biscuit firm".
15. Eyre, Charlotte. (March 7, 2010). "US bakery market beckons for Vivartia". Bakeryandsnacks.com.
16. Staff. (December 29, 2008). "Vivartia Plans for New Plant". Free Press Release.
17. Staff. (August 29, 2009). "Bakery hopes to help Yadkin: Nonni's confirms plan to create jobs". tradingmarkets.com.
18. Tsoulos, Platonas. (March 4, 2010). "Vivartia: Χαμηλότερες και το 2010 αναμένονται οι πωλήσεις". [[List of newspapers in Greece#Daily financial newspapers.
19. Askew, Katy. "Vivaratia eyes France and Italy with Granarolo tie up". Just Food.