French ingredients supplier Solina expands further into US with seasoning acquisitions

Dive Brief:

• Solina, a France-based ingredients manufacturer of sauces and seasonings, is rapidly expanding its presence in the United States with two recent acquisitions.
• The company said last week that it acquired Illinois-based Sokol Custom Food Ingredients for an undisclosed amount. Sokol supplies custom savory and sweet sauces in food manufacturing, retail, and foodservice.
• The deal comes less than a month after Solina closed on a deal to buy Advanced Food Systems, Inc., also for an undisclosed amount. The New Jersey-based supplier manufactures custom dry seasonings for frozen foods, sauces or meat and poultry.

Dive Insight:

Solina has been on an acquisition spree over the past few years as it looks to build up operations in North America that match the company's dry and liquid solution capabilities in Europe. The manufacturer's flavorings are used in meat, snacks, ready-made meals and alternative proteins.

The company has now made four acquisitions in the U.S. since 2021 and has also snapped up producers in Canada. In 2022, Solina bought Smithfield's seasoning business Saratoga Food Specialties in 2022 for $587 million.

The purchase of AFS also expanded Solina's presence on the East Coast, while Sokol's location near the ingredient company's existing site in Bolingbrook, Illinois, allows it to create a “central distribution point in the Midwest.” Solina now has five sites in the U.S., including the two in Illinois, plus locations in California, Nevada and New Jersey.

Beyond geographic expansion, Solina is also looking to grow its commercial offerings. The Sokol acquisition gives the company more of a presence in sweet sauces.

Despite its rapid growth, Solina has somewhat pared back its U.S. footprint in recent months as high input prices continue to pressure margins. Roughly three years after buying Wisconsin-based spice company Asenzya, Solina said in October that it would shut down the brand's seasoning manufacturing plant in Oak Creek.

Anthony Francheterre, CEO of Solina, said in a statement that AFS and Sokol will ultimately help transform the company into a “comprehensive one-stop shop for customized dry and liquid flavour solutions.”

“With these acquisitions, we are diversifying our product capabilities beyond savoury solutions, reinforcing our ambition to grow alongside customers across multiple markets and channels,” Francheterre said.