Emmi to acquire the Le Petit Chevrier production and brand from Fromagerie Bettex

Champtauroz-based Fromagerie Bettex currently processes around a million litres of goat's milk per year. Alongside consumer milk and yoghurt, its main products are fresh, soft and semi-hard cheeses under the "Le Petit Chevrier", "Le Vieux Chevrier" and "La Cabrette" brands. In 2009, Fromagerie Bettex achieved sales of CHF 2.1 million with these products.


Expansion of production at the Kaltbach site

Emmi will acquire the brand rights from Fromagerie Bettex on 1 January 2011. Production will then be relocated in stages. The goat's cheese products will be manufactured at Emmi's Kaltbach site from the end of 2011. Soft and semi-hard goat's milk cheeses are already produced at the Kaltbach site in the canton of Lucerne. However, the acquisition of the brand from Fromagerie Bettex and relocation of production will necessitate an expansion of this site. The production and maturing capacities will therefore be increased, which will give an additional boost to the Kaltbach site.


Fast-growing market

The market for goat's cheese products is currently performing very well, with double- digit growth rates being reported, particularly in the fresh cheese segment. Over half of the volume of the Swiss market stems from domestically produced cheese, most of which is manufactured and marketed by small businesses. Othmar Dubach, Head of the Cheese Division: "The goat's milk products, and in particular the cheese specialities, will be an excellent addition to our premium range. They will enable us to expand our range in this fast-growing niche market."

Richard Bettex, founder and proprietor of the goat's milk product specialist Fromagerie Bettex, will be moving on to a new challenge in future. As the owner of around 500 goats, however, he is one of the most important goat's milk suppliers in Switzerland and will therefore remain associated with the "Le Petit Chevrier" products.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction is subject to approval by the Swiss Federal Competition Commission.