Growing appetite for products drives volume growth at Kerry Group

The Irish food giant Kerry Group said that it grew its business volumes by 3.7% during the first quarter compared to the same time last year.

The food and beverage company, who makes brands such as Cheestrings, Dairygold, and Denny, said that consumer-driven change and a growing demand for its products helped to drive the increase.

The Irish firm said that its taste and nutrition business, which makes food and ingredients, saw volume with of 4.3%. Meanwhile, its consumer foods division grew 1.6%.

The group’s Chief Executive Officer, Edmond Scanlon, said that he was “pleased with the start” the firm has made in 2018

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“The Group continued to deliver healthy volume growth and underlying margin expansion,” he said. “The acquisitions completed over the past year are performing well and integration is progressing to plan.

“Our industry-leading business model and ‘from-food for-food’ heritage are ever more relevant in today’s marketplace and continue to underpin a strong innovation pipeline,” he added.

Kerry Group also said that the rate of consumer-driven change and its impact on the industry and along the supply chain was still prevalent.

“Key consumer trends that continued to evolve and develop included authentic world tastes, new snacking formats, sugar reduction, meat-free and clean label,” it highlighted.

Kerry Group said that its revenue grew 0.1% during the quarter as it was impacted by unfavourable currency rates.

In 2017, the Irish firm made several acquisitions purchasing companies such as Chinese firm Tianning Flavour & Fragrance, probiotic company Ganeden, and South African firm Season to Season.