Hula Hoops owners buys Tyrrells
Crisp producer Tyrrells has been snapped up by the maker of Hula Hoops for an undisclosed sum.
The Intersnack Group’s KP Snacks subsidiary is to acquire the Herefordshire food business from American giant Hershey.
Tyrrells was wrapped up in Hershey’s £1.2bn purchase of Amplify Snack Bands in 2017, which had itself paid £300m for Tyrrells the year before.
This latest acquisition of the Tyrrells business includes a head office and two manufacturing sites in the UK, along with US manufacturing capabilities, the Aroma Snacks business in Germany and Yarra Valley Snack Foods in Australia.
Tyrrells was founded in 2002 by William Chase at Tyrrells Court Farm, and has grown through international acquisitions and diversifying product lines into other snacks, including popcorn, tortilla chips and vegetable crisps.
Mark Thorpe, CEO of KP Snacks, says: “Tyrrells is an iconic brand with a big personality that has performed well both in the UK and international markets. Subject to completion of the deal, we look forward to welcoming our new Tyrrells colleagues into the business. This acquisition is a fantastic opportunity for us to add premium hand-cooked crisps to the KP business and a brand which further increases our capability in the sharing category. We can now offer our consumers and customers a total savoury snacking category portfolio.
“I am delighted that Tyrrells will be joining us to help maintain our momentum as the UK’s fastest growing scale snacks manufacturer and also enable us to continue to grow the brand across the international markets.”
Malcolm Burns, managing director of Tyrrells International, says: “We are delighted that Tyrrells will be joining the KP Snacks family. I am incredibly proud of everything the Tyrrells team has achieved, starting in our farmhouse kitchen 16 years ago to become a brand loved internationally across more than 40 countries. We bring our award winning capabilities in hand cooked crisps and popcorn to join with the UK’s fastest growing scale snacks manufacturer. KP Snacks offers a great long term home for Tyrrells, Aroma and YVSF, providing a stable platform for growth over the coming years. Together, we will be able to offer our consumers and customers a total savoury snacking category portfolio.”
The transaction is subject to approval by the regulatory authorities.
