URC acquiring General Milling’s snack food line

Universal Robina Corp. (URC), the food and beverage unit of Gokongwei flagship firm JG Summit Holdings Inc., is expanding its portfolio of salty snacks by acquiring General Milling Corp.’s (GMC) snack manufacturing assets and trademarks.

URC did not say how much it was acquiring GMC’s snack food assets.

GMC, the second largest corn chips maker and one of the leading integrated food companies in the country, sells corn and wheat-based snacks such as Kornets, Tortillos and Brew bundled under the Granny Goose mother brand.

The purchase of the Granny Goose brand is in line with URC’s efforts to further strengthen its dominant foodthold in the salty snack foods category.

“We are looking forward to this development. The heritage of the Granny Goose brand, as well as GMC’s diverse snacks lineup, will complement and grow our existing snack food operations,” said URC president and chief operating officer Lance Gokongwei.

URC, the country’s snack foods giant, markets well-known products such as Chiz Curls, Potato Chips, Chippy, Piattos, V-Cut, Taquitos, Mr. Chips, Tostillas, Spuds and Sea Crunch, all under the Jack n’ Jill brand.

Founded in 1954 by its chairman, taipan John L. Gokongwei Jr., URC has been the aggressive and innovative frontrunner in the snack food industry, making it the leading snack food supplier to supermarkets in the Philippines.

URC is the dominant market leader in snacks, candies, chocolates, biscuits, cup noodles and tea beverage. It is also a formidable player in pouch noodles, cakes, coffee and tomato-based products.

Among its other leading brands include Magic, Dewberry, Cloud 9, Nips, X.O., Maxx, Cream-O, C2, Payless and Great Taste. Part of its stable are Nissin and Hunts from its joint venture with Nissin Foods Products Co. Ltd. Japan on cup noodles and ConAgra USA on tomato-based products, respectively.

The company’s products are available in the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

URC is an emerging major player in Southeast Asia with businesses ranging from the manufacture and distribution of branded consumer foods to production of hogs and day-old chicks, animal and fish feeds, sugar milling and refining and flour milling.

URC’s parent firm JG Summit is one of the country’s most diversified conglomerates with major businesses engaged in property development, telecommunications, air transportation, petrochemicals and financial services.