Lemann Fund buys 20% of ice cream Diletta

The Innova, which has among its members the businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann, yesterday announced the purchase of 20% of the ice cream maker Diletta, for about $ 100 million, according to a source close to the negotiations. The brand of premium ice cream, with a factory in Cotia (SP) and 3 thousand points of sale all over Brazil, was created in 2007 by Leandro Scabin, who will continue as President of the company.
Negotiations began about a year ago, when the own partner of companies such as Lemann, AB Inbev, Burger King and Heinz, contacted Diletta. "The initiative was of him," said the source, who declined to be identified. Marcel Hermann Telles, a partner of Lemann, also participates in the Innova.
With the capital injection made by investors and the management culture of the Lemann and Telles, the plane of Diletta is now copying the model of major brands of ice cream, such as Häagen-Dazs and Mövenpick. In Europe and the United States (and also in Brazil, in the case of Häagen-Dazs), the two brands sell their products in supermarkets, bakeries and coffee shops as in points, as shops or kiosks in shopping malls. The Diletta initially sold its ice cream only in cafeterias and restaurants and kiosks.
In early 2011, with the inauguration of the own (until then the delegated all his production the Diletto a third-party manufacturer), the brand is now sold in supermarkets. Last year, the company's sales growth came from that channel, according to one Executive connected to the company, which had revenues of approximately $ 30 million. The forecast for 2013 is to reach $ 50 million.
Grandfather. The Diletta is a reprint of a company that Leandro Scabin's grandfather, Vittorio Scabin, had in Italy. After living in Italy and do internship in companies such as Ferrero Rocher chocolates maker (went along with Christian Ferrero, heir to the brand that Scabin developed the formula of sorbets Diletta), the businessman returned to Brazil and created the Diletta in 2007, importing all the ingredients of Italy-even the toothpicks. To launch their products, chose the beach in Trancoso, Bahia, where he distributed his first popsicles for the "vips" who spent new year's Eve at parties closed.
Two years later, Scabin added two business partners: Fabio Meneghini, publicist, and Fábio WMcCann Patel, former partner of Banco Pactual. Meneghini became responsible for developing packaging and visual communication. Patel took part.
In 2010, the company had r $ 10 million funded by the BNDES for factory construction in Cotia. All machines came from Italy.
The Market. In Brazil, the consumption of ice cream grows year by year. Only in 2012, were 1.209 billion liters, according to the Brazilian Association of ice cream (Abis). For 2011, the evolution was 4.4%. In the last ten years, the accumulated growth in consumption came to 76.4%. The average individual consumption increased from 3.82 liters per year per person in 2003 to 6.21 gallons last year, up 65%.