Kalise is a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

and dessert manufacturing company, established in 1960 and based on

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

in the Canary Islands. The company was part of the "Grupo Kalise–La Menorquina S.A.", after merging with another ice cream company of Spain, La Menorquina. During that partnership, Kalise commercialised its products for public sale, while La Menorquina focused on the restaurant trade.Historia
on Kalise website, 8 Aug 2020 In 2017, both companies separated again when the GKM was acquired by Grupo Farga for EU 40 million.Historia
on La Menorquina website, 8 Aug 2020Grupo Farga adquire el negocio de helados Kalise
10 Apr 2017 Since then, Kalise has remained as a separate company.

History

Following the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, businessman Fernando Pons Sintes founded "La Estrella" in 1950 on the island of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

, with the vision of taking ice cream and cake to the island's restaurants. Five years later in 1955, the company would be renamed from La Estrella, to "La Menorquina". By the mid-1950s, the company reached collaboration agreements with companies in Barcelona. In 1956, Sintes acquired the Mahon-based chocolate company La Tropical de Mahón, founded in 1883 and in which Sintes had worked as a baking apprentice. In 1960, ice cream still remained a luxurious product, though the development of tourism and restaurants meant greater access to refrigerators, helping Sintes and La Menorquina gain presence on the islands. By the mid-1960s, increased competition attempting to capitalise on the tourism boost forced La Menorquina to evolve. The company purchased Helados Marisa, which would later merge with US multinational company

Beatrice Foods Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food processing company founded in 1894. In 1987, its international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney, creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of ...

, who bought a 95% stake of the company in 1965. Beatrice Foods would later go on to also buy stakes in a company called Marisa (Modernas Aplicaciones de la Refrigeracion Industrial), who owned refrigeration factories in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and Mallorca. This meant that La Menorquina could begin to sell its products in Mallorca and at a greater scale. La Menorquina marketed three brands in Mallorca, these were La Menorquina, Matisa and Calatayud. In 1983, Marisa merged with La Menorquina, leaving the Barcelona, Menorca and Mallorca factories exclusively to La Menorquina, allowing for expansion of operations. During the early 1960s in the city of

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

in the

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

, businessman Delfín Suárez saw tourism opportunities, and made the family company Interglas manufacture and market their ice cream, trading as Kalise. In 1990, Sintes retired, and now-Interglas owner Suárez purchased all shares of La Menorquina. Despite this, La Menorquina and Kalise remained separate companies. La Menorquina began its internationalisation by exporting its products to 27 countries. Later on 1999, Beatrice Foods left the company, which allowed Interglas to fully merge with La Menorquina, resulting in the Kalise Menorquina Group. At this time it becomes the first national manufacturer with entirely Canarian capital. In 2005, the GKM acquired 95% of SIALSA, which produced and sold yogurt-brand "Sandra" locally. In 2017, the GKM was acquired by Grupo Farga for EU 40 million. As a result, Kalise kept its operational base on the Canary Islands producting its lines of ice creams and yogurts, while La Menorquina commercialised its lines along with the brand "Farggi". In this year, Grupo La Menorquina disbanded, forming Grupo Kalise S.A.

References

External links

* {{Official website Companies of the Canary Islands Food and drink companies of Spain Dairy products companies of Spain Dairy products companies Ice cream brands Ice cream Spanish brands Spanish cuisine Las Palmas Companies established in 1960 Companies of Spain