CJ CheilJedang Acquires Frozen Food Brands Kahiki of US and Mainfrost of Germany

Following its goal to become a global food name, South Korea’s food giant CJ CheilJedang Corp. acquired US-based Kahiki Foods and Germany’s Mainfrost. The two acquisitions are completed, however financial terms were not disclosed.
CJ Cheiljedana Corp’s strategy is aimed at strengthening its competitiveness in the global food business and further expanding its capabilities in the North and South American markets. With the addition of Kahiki Foods the company now owns four food product manufacturing lines in the US – two in the east, one in the west and Kahiki Foods in the central region. Mainfrost is expected to help the Korean food company expand its presence in Europe.
Ohio-based Kahiki Foods is a fast-growing food manufacturer selling frozen Asian cuisine and is available in almost 20,000 stores across the US. Founded in 1961, the company reported $56.5 M in sales last year. “With the additional support and resources that a global food company can provide, we can really accelerate the performance of our iconic brand in the growing and dynamic Asian frozen food category,” said Martin Kelly of Kahiki Foods.
The South Korean giant also purchased the German food maker Mainfrost, which has been manufacturing some of CJ’s Bibigo brand products, such as frozen dumplings supplied to European retailers. Mainfrost’s revenue last year reached over $9 M,
according to CJ CheilJedang.
Launched in 1953, Seoul-based CJ CheilJedang is a food ingredients company that has expanded its activities to processed foods, pharmaceuticals and bioengineering. The company recently announced it would actively seek to take over additional foreign corporations to become one of the world’s leading food businesses. CJ Cheiljedang is aggressively seeking to expand its overseas production bases in the U.S., China, Russia and Vietnam to up exports to Southeast Asia, South America and Europe.