Diners at McDonald’s restaurants in Nur-Sultan and Almaty will soon be biting into burgers served on buns originally conceived in Mexico: the Mexico City-based baked-goods multinational Grupo Bimbo is extending its reach into Kazakhstan.
Via its United States-based subsidiary Bimbo QSR, the world’s largest bread maker announced that it has signed a deal with the company Food Town, which is the exclusive supplier of buns to McDonald’s in the central Asian nation.
Grupo Bimbo said that it will have a 51% stake in the deal with Food Town and that Bimbo QSR will have the opportunity to “strengthen its manufacturing footprint” and relationship with quick-service restaurant (QSR) clients in central Asia.
“It is our priority to meet the needs of our QSR customers worldwide and we will continue to invest in our business to achieve it,” said Bimbo QSR president Mark Bendix. “This operation in Kazakhstan is well positioned to meet the growing demand of our customers in the region.”
The joint venture with Food Town is expected to be up and running by the end of the first quarter of 2020, Grupo Bimbo said, adding that Kazakhstan will be the 33rd country in which it has a presence.
The company’s biggest market is the United States followed by Mexico. The two North American countries account for 50% and 30% of total sales, respectively. Bimbo also has a presence in many Latin American nations as well as countries in Europe, Africa and Asia.
The company’s investment plans for Mexico will be announced soon, CEO Daniel Servitje said this week. Economic stability, low inflation and a stable exchange rate have generated confidence to invest in the country, he said.
Founded in Mexico City in 1945, Bimbo has 196 factories both in Mexico and abroad and employs more than 136,000 people. Its products include fresh and frozen bread, buns, cookies, cakes, English muffins, bagels, tortillas and snacks.
Bimbo has one of the world’s largest distribution networks and sells its products at more than 3.1 million retail outlets.
Source: El Universal (sp)
