Hortex

MidEuropa acquired Hortex, Poland’s longstanding leader in beverage and frozen food manufacturing in January 2018 after tracking the business for nearly a decade. We knew the exceptional value of the brand as we had observed the business’s performance during our ownership of the Zabka retailer chain. Our relevant food manufacturing sector experience gleaned from working with Moji Brendovi convinced management we would be the best-in-class partner for them. 

Hortex is one of the key players in the Polish FMCG market

And a leader in the frozen fruit and vegetable markets, with a 40% market share. The firm’s iconic brand and impressive distribution capabilities make it a strong platform for further organic growth and category expansion. The partnership with MidEuropa has seen improvements in growing the top-line, new product launches and refocusing of the marketing strategy. 

Partnership highlights:

• Top-line growth through new product development related to the existing offering (new packaging formats, additional flavours)
• Acquisition of Jurajska in 2019 took Hortex into the mineral water segment, with further M&A opportunities evaluated on an ongoing basis  
• EBITDA margins improving as part of a value creation plan implemented by the new leadership team 

Value creation:

• Acquisitive Growth
• Operational Excellence