Valsoia, the Italian leading company in the organic, healthy, vegan, and plant-based food market, has struck a strategic deal to enter the fast-growing kefir market, acquiring a 70 per cent stake in Slovenia’s Kele & Kele, producer of the country’s leading kefir brand Krepko.
The Bologna-based food group said the transaction carries an initial value of about €3mn, implying a total enterprise value of €5.4mn. The deal has been funded entirely from Valsoia’s existing cash resources.
The move marks Valsoia’s latest push into Europe’s health-focused food categories, buoyed by rising consumer demand for natural and functional products. Krepko is produced using traditional methods and live kefir grains sourced from the Caucasus — a positioning that has helped it dominate the Slovenian market.
Under the terms of the agreement, the founding Kelečevič family will retain a 30 per cent stake and continue to help run the business for at least three years. Their involvement is intended to ensure a staged transfer of production know-how, technological expertise, and commercial capabilities. Valsoia will hold a put-and-call option allowing it to acquire the remaining shares after that period.
Founded in 1992 near Ljubljana, Kele & Kele sells a range of traditional, organic, and lactose-free kefir products under the Krepko brand. The company operates solely in Slovenia, where Krepko leads the kefir segment with a 30.2 per cent value share, year-on-year growth of 3.5 per cent, and distribution in more than three-quarters of the modern retail channel.
Valsoia chairman Lorenzo Sassoli de Bianchi said the acquisition represented “significant long-term value” for the group. “It strengthens our direct presence in Europe and broadens our strategic diversification under the umbrella of health and functional foods,” he said. “The deal accelerates our growth path abroad — and certainly in Italy as well.”