Abu Dhabi-based leading food and beverage company, Agthia Group has concluded the strategic acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Baklawa Made Better (BMB) Group, a leading regional healthy snacks and food company with a growing global footprint, marking a major landmark in its diversification strategy.
According to Agthia’s statement, the company purchased BMB from its Founders and Co-Chief Executives Mr. Bilal Ballout and Mr. Mohamad Khachab, and an investment vehicle controlled by the Panarae Partnership, a privately held holding company.
For nearly 15 years, BMB has been innovating the confectionery and healthy food products sector with over 2,000 stock-keeping units in over 23 countries globally, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the US, where BMB supplies some of the biggest retailers such as Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco.
The deal is expected to strengthen Agthia’s position in the fast-growing snacking and healthy food segment, building on its acquisition of date company Al Foah and Al Faysal bakery.
Mr. Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Agthia Group, said, “This transaction supports our 2025 growth strategy focused on the acquisition, integration and scaling of new businesses in value-add categories. The acquisition of BMB will create immediate value accretion for our shareholders, with significant growth prospects across Agthia’s product portfolio, geographical footprint, human capital and R&D capabilities.”
Alan Smith CEO – Agthia Group
“This is an exciting and significant acquisition that will expand our footprint in the confectionery and healthy snacking verticals, delivering immediate growth through established brands distributed across key regional and global markets. Together we will take these brands to new markets, as well as utilize BMB’s distribution network to widen the reach of Agthia’s product portfolio in exciting markets such as the United States and Canada.”
According to reports, the plant-based food sector is a $30 billion industry and it is expected to grow more than 450 percent over the next decade to exceed $162 billion.
Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. Ballout and Mr. Khachab said, “This is an exciting time for BMB, through our partnership with Agthia, as we scale our business across the snacking and healthy food segment and develop and invest in foods of the future. Our focus will continue to be on product innovation and expanding our markets as we continue to evolve into a truly global foods conglomerate.”
BMB Group
Founded in 2007, BMB was launched as a small warehouse in Sharjah. Currently, the Group has two manufacturing facilities stretching over a combined total of 150,000 square feet. BMB manufactures and distributes a wide variety of chocolate, Mediterranean sweets, bakery ingredients and healthy snacks for its own brands and partners. Its portfolio includes popular confectionery and healthy food brands such as Asateer, Al Qamar, Freakin’ Healthy and Benoit.
