Kerry Group plc is a public

food company The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and

London stock exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

Kerry headquarters Tralee Irland@20160601 01

Given the company's origins in the co-operative movement, farmer-suppliers of the company retain a significant interest in the company.

Kerry Co-operative Creameries Kerry Co-Operative Creameries is an Irish agricultural co-operative society whose primary activity as of 2022 is the holding of investments on behalf of its farmer-members, with its largest investment being in Kerry Group, a publicly traded com ...

remains the largest single shareholder in the company as of 2022.

History

Kerry was founded in 1972 in

Listowel Listowel ( ; , IPA: �lʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the Central Statistics Of ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

as a private company with three shareholders – state-owned Dairy Disposal Company (42.5%), a federation of eight small farmer co-operatives in Kerry which become

Kerry Co-op Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

(42.5%) and Erie Casein Company Inc. from the US (15%). In 1986, a significant milestone in the formation of the plc involved the Group acquiring the undertaking, property and assets of

and as a consideration 90 million ordinary shares in Kerry Group plc being issued to the Co-op. In March 2004, the company bought the Quest Food Ingredients Group, a food ingredients business, for US$440 million. Then in August 2005, the company acquired Noon Products, a supplier of Indian and Thai ready meals, for £124m. In September 2012, the company acquired Cargill Flavor Systems, a manufacturer of food flavouring, for $230 million. In February 2015 the company acquired Rollover, a supplier of hot dogs. Then in October 2015 the company acquired Red Arrow Products, Island Oasis and Wellmune, three businesses in the US taste and nutrition sector, for US$735 million. In June 2021 Pilgrim's Pride agreed to buy Kerry Group's consumer foods meat and meals business.

Operations

Headquartered in

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

, County Kerry, Ireland, the Group employs over 26,000 people in its manufacturing, sales and technical centres worldwide. Kerry's global headquarters is in

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

at the groups' €100 million Global Technology and Innovation Centre which employs 900 people. Kerry supplies over 18,000 foods, food ingredients and flavour products to customers in more than 140 countries worldwide. Kerry is a member of the

European Flavour Association European Flavour Association (EFFA) is a non-profit European-level trade association of the flavor industry, based in Brussels, Belgium. Founded in 1961, the organisation originally focused on both flavours and fragrances, but has focused solely o ...

Business structure

The Group is divided into several business areas: ingredients and flavours, consumer foods and agribusiness.

Notable brands

Brands include: * Low Low * Cheestrings *

Dairygold Dairygold Co-Operative Society Limited is an Irish dairy co-operative based in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland. With its catchment area mostly in the Golden Vale, Dairygold processes an annual volume of approximately 1.43 billion liters of gra ...

* Charleville * Denny * Richmond * Wall's *

Mattessons Mattessons is a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of processed-meat products, particularly sausages and pâté. The company became famous in the 1970s for its ''"Mmmm"'' television adverts, with the strap line "Just try saying Mattessons withou ...

* Fire & Smoke * Golden Dipt * Yollies * Big Train * Oregon Chai * Island Oasis * DaVinci Gourmet

Rankings

In 2021, Kerry was on the list of Industry Outlook's Top 10 Food Additive Manufacturers, in addition to being ranked second on the Top 20 Global Food Preservative Companies list by FoodTalks, a Chinese food media platform.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Food companies of the Republic of Ireland Companies listed on Euronext Dublin Flavor companies Former cooperatives Demutualized organizations Tralee Food and drink companies established in 1972 Irish companies established in 1972