Paulig, an international family -owned food and beverage company, intends to exit the Gold & Green plant protein business to focus on the growth of its flagship product categories Tex Mex, Coffee, Spices and Snacks. Paulig has reached an agreement to sell the Gold & Green brand, its intellectual property and its research and development functions to Finnish dairy and food company Valio.
Paulig is embarking on plans to discontinue the rest of Gold & Green Foods ’operations that are exempt from the transaction and Gold & Green Foods will hold cooperation negotiations with its employees.
Gold & Green Foods, known for its plant -based innovation, Pulled Oats®, has been a part of Paulig since 2016. Paulig has supported the brand and invested in its production, organization and international growth.
“We believe plant -based diets are a growing trend and will continue to contribute to this growth through our Tex Mex, Spice and Snack product categories. Over the years we have invested in Gold & Green’s international growth and its products are now available in 17 countries. However, we have not been able to grow the business profitably, ”said Rolf Ladau, Paulig’s CEO. And he continued: “This agreement with Valio ensures the continuity of the unique and innovative Gold & Green brand and allows it to realize its full potential in the future”.
“Gold & Green has been a pioneer in plant -based foods and new product development and Valio has successfully developed its Oddlygood plant -based product portfolio. Now, the Gold & Green R&D team is joining us to achieve our strategic goal: to further strengthen our position in the growing global vegetable protein market.
Together, we will develop innovation in the Gold & Green pipeline and continue the story of the brand, ”said Tuomas Salusjärvi, executive vice president, growth and research and development at Valio.
The agreement with Valio includes all Gold & Green brand rights, intellectual property as well as research and development activities. The Gold & Green Food R&D team joined the Valio team from 1 March 2022. The agreement with Valio does not include other Gold & Green Food operations and the Gold & Green Food production site in Järvenpää.
Paulig will continue its current operations of Gold & Green Foods and sell Valio -licensed Gold & Green products in all markets until potential operations are terminated. The parties will explore options to enable the availability of selected products in Finland.
Gold & Green Foods will begin cooperation negotiations under the Business Cooperation Act. The planned closure will take place later in 2022 and will directly affect 69 Gold & Green Foods employees. Paulig’s other employees will not be affected by the negotiations.
