Investcorp backs Hong Kong's Heritage Foods

Heritage is perhaps best known for its longstanding sauce brands Hamada Shoyu in Japan (established in 1818), Bidor Kwong Heng in Malaysia (established in 1945), and Woh Hup Food in Singapore (established in 1936). It has offices and factories in China, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia, more than 300 staff, and about 30 distributors across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US.

Investcorp noted that the global sauces and condiments market size is estimated to be worth $130 billion and is growing at 5-6% per year, with Asian sauces accounting for over 50% of the global market. The Bahrain-based private equity firm plans to leverage a food sector network across the Middle East, US, Europe, and Asia to advance Heritage’s global expansion efforts.

“We believe that the Asia food sector continues to offer attractive growth opportunities and we see that Heritage Foods is poised to achieve significant scale,” Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-CEO of Investcorp, said in a statement. “We see attractive macro trends in Asia’s rising middle class, high household consumption of sauces and rapid growth in casual dining, further driving market growth.”

This is Investcorp’s 21st food investment overall and its third via the Asia Food Growth Fund. The fund is a joint venture with Fung Strategic Holdings and China Resources, owner of China’s largest supermarket operator, China Resources Vanguard. Its first two investments were Singapore beverage maker Viz Branz and Hong Kong supermarket operator City Super Group.

The fund, touted as the first vehicle in the region dedicated to local food brands, reached a first close of $275 million last year on a target of $500 million. It focuses on fragmented segments such as condiments, packaged foods, and healthy snacks, with China set to be a key geographic focus. It is co-managed by the three partners, and Ben-Gacem is chairman of the investment committee.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Expansion
• Hong Kong (China)
• Investcorp
• China Resources Capital
• Fung Strategic Holdings
• Growth capital
• Food