Reox Holdings, the former subsidiary of Dairygold co-op, is to invest €50 million in Breeo Foods, its consumer foods division, by the end of the year and is seeking acquisitions that will expand its activities in the Netherlands.
Reox has spent €2 million upgrading a meat grill facility in its Breeo Holland operation and is now looking to buy mid-sized Dutch companies to gain a bigger foothold in the European food market.
Breeo Holland sells 40,000 portions of meat a week to restaurants, hotels and institutions in the Netherlands. It aims, through its Dutch acquisition Prime Meat, to take advantage of a lack of skilled labour in professional kitchens by selling "idiot-proof" fresh and pre-cooked meat.
The fresh meat is cut and arranged so that its food service customers can cook rare, medium and well-done steaks in the same cooking time.
The Netherlands, which is the size of Munster but has a population of 16.4 million, has the highest level of out-of-home eating after the US and the UK.
Breeo Holland, which employs 200 people, has doubled its turnover in the past three years to €60 million and has a target turnover of €100 million next year. Breeo's combined Irish and Dutch operations have a combined turnover of almost €300 million.
Apart from its food service business, Breeo sells meat products and salads to the Dutch retail sector.
In Ireland, Breeo owns the Dairygold, Shaws, Galtee, Sno, Mitchelstown and Calvita brands.
