Costa Food Group, owner of Casademont, has taken a new step in its strategy to create one of the Spanish leaders in the meat sector. The family company based in Fraga (Huesca) has announced the purchase of Roler, a company from Terrassa (Barcelona) that leads the market for the production of hamburgers sold in supermarket chains.
With a turnover of 85 million euros, Roler belonged until now to the San José brothers, second generation of a family that began its business journey with the opening of a butcher shop in 1976. The founder, Fausto San José, had the vision of betting on the sale of meat products to supermarket chains, positioning himself over time as a key supplier of elaborated products such as hamburgers, sausages or minced meat. To make this leap from traditional butchery to the supermarket, Sant José allied with the French group Arcadie, although in 1998 the family acquired 100% of the company and began an important growth plan led by the founder's children, Fausto and Joan Carles San José.
Roler made a commercial splash in 2006 by acquiring the license to manufacture hamburgers with the faces of Walt Disney characters. That same year, the company doubled its production facilities by launching a factory in Peraleda de la Mata (Cáceres), which allowed it to optimize its logistics and quickly supply all supermarket chains from its facilities in Terrassa and Extremadura. Roler employs 500 employees and since 2013 has had chef Carlos Argiñano as its brand ambassador.
"The integration of Roler increases our current product offering with its wide assortment in the fresh elaborated range. It represents an important step that drives us to continue growing, as it is one of the most cutting-edge and innovative companies in our sector. This move allows us to reinforce our commitment to being closer to the end consumer," said Jorge Costa, president and owner of Costa Food Group.
With more than 4,500 employees and a turnover that this year aims to reach 1,750 million euros, Costa is a verticalized group that controls the entire value chain, from farm to plate. Thus, the Aragonese company has more than 600 pig farms in integration, feed factories and various slaughterhouses and meat processing companies.
In the last decade, the company has carried out multiple acquisitions to accelerate its growth. Catalonia has been the priority market and where it has found the most opportunities to buy meat companies. Thus, the acquisition of Roler joins the purchase of Casademont's assets and the former meat company Toni Josep, which allowed it to have a slaughterhouse and cutting room in Vic (Barcelona), which was completed with the incorporation of Cárnicas Solà. Outside Catalonia, the group has grown with the purchases of Industrias Cárnicas Villar, Embutidos La Nuncia and 50% of Grupo Aviserrano.