The Dutch family business Schouten Europe, producer of meat and fish substitutes, is taking over Nijland Food from Goor, the Netherlands which recently declared bankruptcy.
Schouten will take over all buildings and machines and said it is committed to ensuring that as many Nijland employees as possible can keep their jobs.
The market for plant-based alternatives to meat and fish has been steadily growing. Competition within the market has also increased. “We have always outsourced production and packaging in order to remain flexible and focus on innovation. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing shortage in production and packaging capacity. This did not benefit our market position. This acquisition offers us room to grow further,” says CEO and owner Henk Schouten.
Schouten and Nijland are no strangers. Nijland has been packaging products for Schouten for 12 years. Several Schouten products have also been produced at Nijland for five years. Nijland also packaged products for other parties. Chicken was also processed in a separate hall. “We are specialists in the development, production, and packaging of plant-based products. Processing chicken does not fit in with that. We will therefore not continue this,” says Schouten.
The acquisition of Nijland does not mean that Schouten will produce and package all its products itself. “We have a strong network of specialised and valued production partners who will continue to add value to our company and with whom we are happy to continue to working with,” says Schouten.