Orkla Brands also holds strong local positions in Russia and India, in addition to being an important supplier of ingredients to the European bakery market. The business area consists of four units: Orkla Foods Nordic, Orkla Brands Nordic, Orkla Brands International and Orkla Food Ingredients.
Orkla Foods Nordic
Orkla Foods Nordic primarily consists of the following food and beverage businesses in the Nordic region and the Baltic States: Stabburet and Bakers in Norway, Procordia Food and Abba Seafood in Sweden, Beauvais in Denmark and Orkla Foods Fenno-Baltic in Finland and the Baltic States.
Orkla Brands Nordic
Orkla Brands Nordic consists of Lilleborg (detergents and personal care products), Lilleborg Profesjonell (total supplier of hygiene and cleaning solutions to the professional market), Axellus (dietary supplements and health products), Chips Group (snacks), Göteborgs / Sætre (biscuits), Nidar (chocolate and confectionery) and the Pierre Robert Group (textiles).
The Nordic countries are Orkla Brands Nordic's main market. The business unit holds strong No. 1 positions in Norway across all segments, and several of the companies possess solid market positions in Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
Orkla Brands International
As from 2009 Orkla Brands International comprises SladCo and Krupskaya (Russia/chocolate and biscuits), Felix Austria (Austria/ketchup and sauces) and MTR Foods (India/food products).
Orkla Food Ingredients
Orkla Food Ingredients is currently market leader for baking ingredients in the Nordic region. The business unit has a decentralised management structure and consists of 29 companies in 15 countries. The industry is fragmented, and Orkla Food Ingredients is now one of the five leading players in Europe.
Bakeries and the bakery industry are the largest customer segments, but the grocery trade and the catering industry are also important customers. Through acquisitions in Sweden and Denmark, Idun has also established a position as a Nordic market leader for ice cream ingredients for ice cream bars.
Orkla Food Ingredients' main product categories are margarine products (Dragsbæk), marzipan (Odense Marcipan), bread improvers and mixes (Credin) and yeast (Jästbolaget). The largest sales and distribution companies are KåKå in Sweden, Idun Industri in Norway and Credin bageripartner in Denmark.
Results for 2008
All four business units reported underlying1 growth in profit in 2008. This was largely due to price increases to meet market driven cost increases, and to the continuous focus on improvements throughout the value chain. However, the improved results must be seen in the light of poor performance in 2007, which reflected rising input costs that were not adequately offset by higher prices. The innovation programme has also been an important factor for profit performance, but too few large nnovations were achieved in 2008. There will be an internal focus on stepping up the pace of innovation in 2009.