Lotus Bakeries officially opened a new natural snacks factory in South Africa on Tuesday. The Belgian company – producer of Biscoff, the world’s fifth most popular biscuit in 2023 – made the announcement on Wednesday.
Lotus Bakeries will produce its Nakd fruit and nut bars at the new plant in Wolseley, in Western Cape. Until now, production has been carried out exclusively by a partner company in the UK.
Lotus has been operating in Wolseley since 2019, and an expansion followed in 2021. The site is Lotus’ second largest, after its home base in Lembeke in East Flanders. Lotus also has “ambitious plans for South Africa in the future”, the company said on Wednesday.
The company has been producing fruit rolls in Wolsley for five years under the Bear brand, which, like Nakd, is part of its natural foods branch. More than 700 people are currently employed at the site.
Record turnover
Lotus, which is majority-owned by the Boone and Stevens families, employs around 3,000 people worldwide and reported a turnover of almost 1.1 billion euros in 2023. It was the first time the company achieved a turnover of 1 billion euros.
In addition to Belgium and South Africa, the listed group has production facilities in the Netherlands, France, Sweden and the US. Lotus is also building a biscuit factory in Thailand, where biscuits will roll off the production line from 2026.
Biscoff, the iconic caramelised biscuit produced by Lotus, generated sales of 500 million euros last year – an increase of 20 per cent, making it the fifth most popular biscuit in the world.
Source: belganewsagency.eu
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