Casalasco acquires the “Knorr - Tomato al Gusto” range from Unilever

Rivarolo del Re (CR) - January 16, 2025 - New acquisition for Casalasco. The Group, one of the world's leading operators in industrial tomato production and processing, has acquired from Unilever the well-known German range of pasta sauces “KNORR - TOMATO AL GUSTO”.

The agreement for the transfer of ownership of the range, launched by Unilever in the 1990s, was signed in Hamburg in recent weeks and will be effective from March 1, 2025.

Casalasco, already owner of the brands Pomì, Pomito and De Rica, with an integrated supply chain based on 800 farms, 5 plants, and 70 packaging lines, thus enriches its range with another well-known addition highly valued by German consumers, strengthening its position in Germany, a country already covered by the Pomito brand.

Tomato al Gusto has been available on German shelves as a ready-made sauce line under the Knorr brand for over twenty years, positioned in the Premium range of tomato-based products, featuring various recipes with vegetable ingredients, including a Carbonara version, all packaged in 370 and 500-gram cartons.

For a transitional period of 12 months from the operation, Casalasco also obtains the right to use the Knorr brand exclusively in conjunction with this product range. The Knorr brand remains, to all intents and purposes, the full property of Unilever.

The products from the “Tomato al Gusto” range, which have always been packaged by Casalasco on behalf of Unilever, will be added to the more than 2,300 products that the Casalasco Group distributes in over 60 countries worldwide, with an export share exceeding 70% and a consolidated turnover of 630 million euros in 2023.

“With this operation,” explains Costantino Vaia, CEO of Casalasco —our Group intends to consolidate its presence in Germany, one of the main European food markets, and to give a clearly Italian identity to the brands distributed globally. The acquisition of the “Tomato al Gusto” line,” Vaia concludes, “is part of the internationalization process undertaken in recent years and will strengthen Casalasco's position at a European level in a strategic segment such as red preserves.”

Casalasco will distribute the products in Germany in collaboration with its long-standing commercial partner Hengstenberg GmbH & Co of Esslingen, with whom it already reaches the market with the brand Pomito.