Arla Foods has signed an agreement for a licence to use the Kraft brand for the next 12 years in the Middle East on the cheese portfolio recently acquired from Mondelez International.
The markets covered by the licence agreement include Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritius, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen and the Seychelles.
“We are pleased to reach this agreement with Kraft Heinz. It secures an important continuation of the business we have acquired, which is also good news for the millions of consumers in the region who know and love the Kraft branded cheese products,” said Tim Orting Jorgensen executive vice president of Arla’s international zone.
The new royalty-bearing licence grants Arla the right to use the Kraft brand on cheese products with the exception of Macaroni & Cheese and packaged food products containing a combination of cheese and other foods such as cheese and crackers.
In December 2018, Denmark-based Arla announced an agreement with US-based Mondeléz International to acquire its processed cheese business in the Middle East region. The deal was formally completed on May 28.
The acquisition also gave Arla full ownership of a cheese production site in Bahrain.
Since 2010 Arla said it has more than doubled its sales across the MENA region, which is the company’s largest market outside Europe.
In 2018, Arla’s retail and foodservice revenue in the MENA region reached EUR560 million ($631.7 million).
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