The venerable , founded in 1935 by Joseph Burton, has changed hands several times in recent years, In 2009 the company was purchased by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in partnership with Apollo Global Management, with Duke Street Capital as a minority stakeholder. Now Burton’s is gearing up for a global expansion, according to the chief commercial officer, Steve Newiss.
In November of last year, the company changed its name to identify their new strategy of concentrating on a specific product, namely biscuits, and they are now Burton’s Biscuit Company. As part of the move to expand, the company has just made an agreement with Loblaw’s, Canada’s largest supermarket chain, to distribute 11 of their products in over half of the Loblaw’s stores.
The deal comes after a successful Christmas season during which Burton’s seasonal Cadbury biscuits were on offer in the Canadian markets, and Mr. Newiss says that the popularity of the company’s flagship brand is expected to give Burton’s Biscuit Company a better foothold in other markets abroad.
Burton’s has a line of well-known and beloved products that include Cadbury Digestives and Fingers as well as Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels amongst others. They have already made a distribution deal with Moscow and St. Petersburg for their Wagon Wheels, and one with Walmart in its North and South American stores for the Cadbury Mini Fingers.
The company plans to triple its export business within two years, from around £30 million as of 2009 to an anticipated £100 million by the end of 2012. As they build on existing markets in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, France and Sweden there will be a strong push for expansion into the Russian and
Chinese markets. Changes in packaging and a new website should be in place in the next few weeks.
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