May 16, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Berjé, a leading supplier to the flavor and fragrance industries, announced it has acquired Global Citrus International (GCI) and Acelim del Peru – two citrus growers and producers of essential oils and fruit products with extensive operations in Peru and strong collaborations with Citrolim SA de CV in Mexico. 

Upon the closing of this deal, both companies will become a part of the Berjé family of companies, strengthening its position as an international producer within the flavors and fragrance space, and will be renamed and operated as Citrolim Peru and Acelim.

Both companies are top growers, processors, and suppliers of fresh limes, lime essential oils, lime juice, and lime peel. Prior to this deal, both were owned and operated by the Texas-based Readhimer family – a second-generation family-run business that has remained a respected grower, processor, supplier, and distributor of limes and lime products for 50 years since its founding by James Readhimer in 1971.

A seismic shift by consumers toward more natural and transparent food ingredients, and away from processed and synthetic options, is driving strong growth in the natural flavors.

The striving for the holy grail of a “clean label” to meet this demand  is expected to translate into a CAGR of 5 percent for the global food flavors market, to reach a value of $19.72 billion by 2026 – up from a value of $13.31 billion in 2018, according to research conducted by Reports and Data.

Highly popular for their acidic and tart flavor in both foods and beverages, the lime market in particular is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5 percent from 2021-2026, according to Marketwide Research. 

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for Berjé to expand our comprehensive line of citrus products, providing our customers access to the highest quality products available in the marketplace,” said Gillian Bleimann-Boucard, CEO, Berjé. 

“Like Berjé, the Readhimer’s family of businesses has always been known for quality, sustainability, and a commitment to its employees, partners, and customers. We are thrilled to be able to bolster our citrus line to ensure the quality, traceability, and availability that our customers need, and we welcome our new teammates into the Berjé family of companies.”

Due to the close alignment in corporate culture and business philosophies of all the companies involved, this double acquisition is expected to be exceptionally smooth with uninterrupted service to all customers. It also is expected to provide many opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing between the Berjé and Citrolim Peru teams to foster both innovation and growth. 

In Peru, Berjé will assume full ownership, management, and operation of both the farming and lime processing operations, while in Mexico, Berjé will work with the Readhimer family to continue operations and management of the existing lime processing facility. 

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for Berjé to expand our comprehensive line of citrus products, providing our customers access to the highest quality products available in the marketplace,” said Bleimann-Boucard. 

“Like Berjé, the Readhimer’s family of businesses has always been known for quality, sustainability, and a commitment to its employees, partners, and customers. We are thrilled to be able to bolster our citrus line to ensure the quality, traceability, and availability that our customers need, and we welcome our new teammates into the Berjé family of companies.”

Bleimann-Boucard continued, “Our vision is to grow and maintain our global leadership position, building upon our trusted personalized service and our diverse range of fragrance and flavor ingredients, botanicals, and functional ingredients from our unparalleled inventory.”

“We are relentlessly committed to our clients and team members, and to ethically and sustainably sourcing ingredients from our processing facilities and global producing partners.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and Agtech Intel News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

*The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.