St. Paul and Koninklijke ERU, two leading Dutch-Belgian processed cheese companies, have entered into a strategic partnership to acquire Kasi Food, the processed cheese division of Lekkerkerker Food, and integrate it into both companies. The collaboration aims to enhance their shared core business and market share, as well as achieve efficiencies across all production processes. This merger creates the largest alliance in processed cheese production in the Benelux.

The partnership between St. Paul, Koninklijke ERU, and Kasi Food forms a single entity with a comprehensive range of high-quality processed cheese products for the consumer market (retail; B-to-C, where ERU is already active), the out-of-home market (foodservice), and the food industry (B-to-B, where St. Paul has already acquired a significant market share). The companies expect to benefit from each other's expertise and experience to achieve joint growth while improving the quality and efficiency of their production processes and procurement. The collaboration focuses on leveraging the strengths of St. Paul, Koninklijke ERU, and Kasi Food. The companies intend to jointly shape the integration of Kasi Food’s operations and products, utilizing the facilities of Koninklijke ERU in Woerden and St. Paul in Sint-Jansteen and Lokeren.

Kasi Food, Part of Lekkerkerker Food
Lekkerkerker Food, a family-owned company with over 45 years of expertise in dairy production, based in Lopik, specializes in producing high-quality cream cheese, processed cheese, and vegan cheese products for the industry, foodservice, and retail. By integrating Kasi Food—the processed cheese division of Lekkerkerker Food—into the partnership with St. Paul and Koninklijke ERU, numerous synergies and economies of scale will be realized. This will enable Kasi Food to further professionalize with the right investments and scale, allowing market opportunities to be seized more quickly. At the same time, Lekkerkerker Food can fully focus on the continued growth and transition to sustainability for its cream cheese and vegan activities. 

The IMAP Netherlands team, led by Jeanluc Zeguers, exclusively advised Lekkerkerker Food (Kasi Food) on this transaction and supported them in the preparation, negotiation, and successful completion of the transaction.