The potato chip brand Vicente Vidal buys the Gerundian Mikso

The Navarrese company Apex, manufacturer of Vicente Vidal potato chips, will intensify its presence in Catalonia with the purchase of the Girona-based company Viube Foods, specialized in the production of vegetable chips, which it markets under the Mikso brand. Apex will incorporate Viube Foods' production center, located in Riudellots de la Selva, into its manufacturing structure, which will become the seventh factory of the Navarrese group.

Viube Foods is a firm dedicated to the production of vegetable snacks, with one hundred percent natural products, which was promoted by four entrepreneurs from Girona ---Albert Boadella, Joan Borrell, Josep Fàbregas and Ricard Reixach--- and which, in 2021, already had a high level of export ---30% of its turnover--- to markets such as Japan, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Holland, Turkey and Romania.

The operation, the ninth acquisition made by Apex since 2010 to expand products and gain market share, will also serve to position itself in the vegetable chips category with a wide and consolidated variety of products ---sweet potato, beetroot and parsnip chips--- that the Girona-based company has been marketing in gourmet stores and supermarkets since 2017.

The Navarrese manufacturer considers that Viube Foods has outstanding know-how in the production of these snacks with natural and local products, carefully selecting the varieties that can be grown according to the climate, thus ensuring product quality and environmental and economic impact in the territory where it operates.

According to the group based in Ribaforada (Navarra), 94% of its purchases of products and services are closed with Spanish companies, and specifically 22% are local suppliers.

In addition to Vicente Vidal potatoes, Apex also manufactures and markets snacks and nuts with brands such as Aspil, Marinas or Aspitos. As part of its expansion, it is expanding its factories in Ejea de los Caballeros (Zaragoza), Ribaforada (Navarra) and Riego de la Vega (León). In the last financial year, the group has exceeded 100 million euros in turnover thanks to a 22% growth in sales.

In a statement, the Navarrese company specified that, despite the growth, its results have been penalized by a 40% increase in the cost of main raw materials and energy. For this reason, the profit margin has fallen by half.