Italian Beverage Company (IBC Simply), renowned for shaking up beverages in foodservice for over 25 years, has acquired March Foods, one of the UK’s leading co-packing and co-manufacturing companies to create a new force in UK food and drink manufacturing and packing for the future.

The acquisition, which took place in December 2023, sees the expertise and knowledge of two long-standing companies in the foodservice industry coming together under a new parent group, Delightful Food Group.

Delightful Food Group (www.delightfulfoodgroup.com) is headed by the co-owner of IBC Simply, Ricky Flax, who continues to run the business day-to-day, and is driving growth across the newly formed parent group, bringing IBC’s family-run values to the new group. March Foods’ operations remain unchanged with the entire team continuing to be led by the current managing director Steven Dorr, providing continuity for customers.

Announcing the acquisition, Ricky Flax, CEO of Delightful Food Group, IBC Simply and March Foods said:

“We’re delighted to be able to announce the acquisition of March Foods, which will bring huge benefits to both companies and of course to our customers and the industry as a whole. We plan to invest in new technologies, enhance our product manufacturing capabilities and open up more opportunities for customers, offering a totally rounded solution.

“We have been working successfully together with March Foods for many years, and the synergy between product and manufacturing was the perfect match to grow both businesses to the next level. Both brands complement each other and now customers can benefit from the teams across the group, particularly those with unique offerings or who need support with NPD using our combined knowledge and experience in innovation.

“We see this acquisition as the first step of a growth plan for Delightful Food Group and we’re excited to see where our journey takes us.”

March Foods already work with a number of household names, and their bespoke set ups, market leading machinery and the ability to mirror a brand’s exact standards, is why they’re the UK’s leading provider. Couple this with IBC Simply’s knowledge and expertise in developing products and you have a rounded solution, whether you’re looking to bring a new product to market, private or white label products, or co-manufacturing and co-packing your products, Delightful Food Group can help.

 IBC Simply are at IFE on Stand 5038, we look forward to seeing you!