Lotus Bakeries buys Kiddylicious to expand snack business

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Kiddylicious has grown rapidly, expanding in the UK through its Little Bistro ambient ready meals range

Fast-growing infant snacks brand Kiddylicious has been bought by Lotus Bakeries in a deal worth around £42m.

The children’s snack and meal brand, which The Grocer reported was closing in on a sale, has been wholly acquired by the Belgian bakery firm as it continues to expand in the snacking category.

Kiddylicious, which was launched by former M&S food scientist Sally Preston in 2009, sought a sale as it looked to expand the brand internationally.

It will join Lotus Bakeries’ Natural Foods arm, which also comprises of healthy snack brands Nakd, TREK, Bear and Urban Fruit, all of which have been acquired in the past three years.

Kiddylicious brand owner The Kids Food Co had hired corporate finance boutique Stamford Partners to find external investment to support its rapid growth.

The brand generated UK retail sales of £18.5m in the year to 16 June, growing at almost 70% year-on-year, and sales are estimated to be at least £21m for the year to December 2018.

Kiddylicious has grown rapidly, expanding in the UK through its Little Bistro ambient ready meals range. It claims to be responsible for almost 75% of the growth in the category in the UK last year.