Roquette Acquires Sethness Products Company

Roquette has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Sethness Products Company, a global leader in the production of high-quality caramel color for food and beverage markets.

As a family business founded in the U.S. in 1880 and headquartered in Skokie (IL), Sethness Products Company has been solely focused on the production of caramel.

Sethness provides a large selection of caramel colors (in liquid and powdered forms), as well as a variety of clean-label caramel color options (non-GMO, certified organic, gluten-free, allergen-free, etc.). Its four manufacturing facilities located in the U.S., France, India, and China supply the world’s leading food and beverage companies. Roquette and Sethness have a strong partnership as they operate two successful joint ventures in France and in China.

The closing of the acquisition of Sethness is expected to take place in Q3 2018 and, until then, Sethness remains entirely owned and managed by its existing shareholders.

Jean-Marc Gilson, CEO of Roquette, said: “This acquisition will help accelerate Roquette’s growth plan in the food and beverage market, and further drive value for our customers. We have been very happy to successfully partner with Sethness in France and China for years. We are looking forward to working with their talented teams to continue addressing customers’ current and future needs everywhere in the world.”

Chuck Sethness said on behalf of Sethness: “Today is an important day in our long history. Over the past 135-years, our family-owned company has striven to offer the highest quality caramel color products to the most recognized players in the food and beverage industry. I am pleased that Roquette, a group with which we share common values and a long-term vision, will now continue to leverage on the strong assets of both companies to reinforce its relationships with clients for the benefit of consumers globally.”