HELSINKI, Finland – Paulig, the international, family-owned food and beverage company plans to exit the Gold&Green plant-based protein business to focus on driving growth in its main product categories Tex Mex, Coffee, Spices and Snacks.
Paulig has entered into an agreement to sell its Gold&Green brand, intellectual property and R&D function to the Finnish dairy and food company Valio.
Paulig is initiating a plan to phase out the rest of the Gold&Green Foods operations which are excluded from the transaction and Gold&Green Foods will start co-operation negotiations with its employees.
Gold&Green Foods, known for its revolutionary plant-based innovation Pulled Oats, has been part of Paulig since 2016
Paulig has supported the brand and invested in its production, organisation, and international growth.
“We believe that plant-based diets are a growing trend and will continue to contribute to this growth through our Tex Mex, Spices and Snacks product categories. Over the years, we have invested in the international growth of Gold&Green and its products are currently available in 17 countries. However, we have not been able to scale the business in a profitable way”, says Paulig’s CEO Rolf Ladau, who continues:
“This agreement with Valio secures the continuity of the unique and innovative Gold&Green brand and enables the realisation of its full potential in the future.”
“Gold&Green has been a pioneer in the field of plant-based food and new product development, and Valio has successfully developed its Oddlygood plant-based product portfolio. Now, the Gold&Green R&D team joins us in reaching our strategic goal – to further strengthen our position in the growing global plant protein market. Together, we will develop the innovations in Gold&Green’s pipeline and continue the story of the brand”, says Tuomas Salusjärvi, Executive Vice President, Growth Businesses and R&D at Valio.
Gold&Green to start co-operation negotiations
The agreement with Valio includes all the rights of the Gold&Green brand, intellectual property and research and development work. The R&D Team of Gold&Green Foods will join the Valio team as of 1 March 2022.
The agreement with Valio does not include other Gold&Green Foods operations and the Gold&Green Foods’ production site in Järvenpää. Paulig will continue Gold&Green Foods current operations and sell Gold&Green products under license from Valio in all markets until a potential phase out of the operations. The parties will explore options to enable the availability of selected products in Finland.
Gold&Green Foods will start co-operation negotiations according to the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings. The planned closure would take place later in 2022 and directly affect 69 employees in Gold&Green Foods. Other Paulig employees will not be affected by the negotiations.
