French halal meat major buys Tesco-supplying British halal brand

04-Sep-2024 - Last updated on 04-Sep-2024 at 08:26 GMT

British halal supplier to Tesco and Sainsbury's bought by French investor. Source: Getty

A fast-growing British halal brand supplying Tesco and Sainsbury's has been snapped up by a French investment company specialising in halal meat as the category continues to swell across Europe.

Leading private equity investor Perwyn has acquired Britain’s Takul halal brand, which supplies major UK supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsbury’s, adding it to its halal meat products portfolio company Isla Délice.

Launched in 2022 by Stonehouse Foods, Takul’s growth highlights the opportunity for additional profit gains within Europe’s already major halal market, which has a projected value of over $20bn by 2029 [Mordor Intelligence].

Takul sale will result in halal meat scale

The brand has innovated in the UK market within some of the country’s leading supermarkets, making it an attractive proposition for Isla Délice which operates in France, Belgium and Spain.

Like other investors, Perwyn considers the UK market a promising and profitable opportunity for halal market growth. It believes additional opportunities can be uncovered with Takul through greater distribution and improved range commercialisation as well as NPD.

“The combination of Isla Délice’s rich halal heritage and its professional FMCG approach makes it well positioned to accelerate the halal consumer offering in the UK,” said Heinz Holsten, partner at Perwyn and Isla Délice board member.

How many halal brands in Tesco UK

The investor will support Takul’s existing range and seek to launch Isla Délice products in parallel with Takul ranges. Tesco currently offers 40 SKUs in stores across both brands.

“Together with Isla Délice’s chilled and frozen products, we are very confident that this large and modern halal portfolio is the perfect combination to attract consumers and take the UK halal market to the next level,” said Isla Délice CEO Eric Fauchon.

Of the acquisition, Stonehouse Foods director William Walter said: “We believe their [Isla Délice’s] scale and knowledge of this market and consumer, and their commitment to invest in long term category growth, will allow them to build on the foundations we’ve built and provide a real step-change to not only the Takul brand, but the category as a whole, with the addition of Isla Délice products in the UK.”