Dive Brief:
- Jack Link's, a meat snack maker based in Minong, Wisc., is buying Peperami and BiFi — two rival jerky brands owned by Unilever. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- The deal gives Jack Link's a substantial presence in Europe. Peperami is the leading meat snack brand in the U.K., and BiFi operates in Germany and Austria. Link's also takes control of a manufacturing facility in Germany as part of the deal.
- The sale is the latest in a series of such transactions by Unilever, which is selling off its non-core assets.
Dive Insight:
What's not to like about this deal? Well, without knowing the terms of the transaction, nothing. Link's, which has rapidly become a dominant player in the prepared-meat business, gets access to new markets, while Unilever continues to move away from product segments that don't fit its strategy. That seems like a win-win to us.
More importantly, we see no end in sight to the paleolithic diet craze. And Link's, Peperami, and BiFi all stand to gain from that.