Cargill has acquired Leman Decoration Group, a cake decorations supplier across the bakery sector, including the artisanal, small industrial and home-baking segments and foodservice sectors. Besides cake decorations, Leman Decoration Group’s portfolio includes chocolate printings, sugar-based decorations and wafers. As part of the transaction, all Leman Decoration Group facilities, including its three state-of-the-art manufacturing sites in Belgium, Mauritius and Thailand, and its nearly 450 employees will join Cargill reporting into its Global Gourmet and Distribution organization.

Currently, Cargill is the second largest chocolate company globally and serves the gourmet market with its Veliche Gourmet, Smet, Vanova and now Leman Decorations brands. The acquisition significantly broadens the company’s offerings in the decorations space, enabling its cocoa and chocolate business to better serve gourmet customers in Europe and worldwide.

Customers shall benefit from “increased intimacy and high speed to market with complementary decoration technology, enhanced production capabilities and a wide-ranging product portfolio,” says Cargill. Inge Demeyere, Managing Director Cargill Chocolate Europe, explains: “By adding Leman Decoration Group to the Cargill family, we’re able to support our gourmet and industrial customers at every step of their journey – from concept to finished product”.

Cargill’s move to acquire Leman Decoration is the latest in a series of steps to extend its presence and product line in the gourmet space. “Our gourmet business will be a true one-stop-shop for all their chocolate needs, inclusions, decorations, couverture chocolate and now also, an extensive range of special decorations,” Inge Demeyere says, adding that the acquisition is also backed by a unique platform for sound customer service, including extensive R&D and printing capabilities, and the combined expertise and resources of two world-class organizations.