People on the move
pladis taps ex-KP Snacks CEO to lead UK & Irish business
It comes as incumbent Jon Eggleton steps down after 14 years in the role.
Nick Bunker, formerly CEO of KP Snacks, a division of the Intersnack Group, will take up the position from November 6 this year.
Bunker previously spent 12 years in senior management roles at Kraft Foods (now Mondelēz), including president of Kraft Foods and Cadbury UK, MD of Kraft Foods Gulf Cooperation Council GCC region and MD of Kraft Foods Czech and Slovak Republics.
pladis and Godiva in the UK
pladis – owned by Turkish conglomerate Yildiz Holding and made up of United Biscuits, Godiva and DeMet’s Candy – has annual revenues of £2.2bn ($2.9bn). It operates factories in 13 countries and employs 26,000 people.
Around 33% of pladis’ sales come in the UK & Ireland, 31% in Turkey and 9% in the Middle East.
The company aims to double chocolate and biscuit sales by 50% to £3.2bn ($3.9bn) in the next two years compared to 2016 levels.
To achieve this aim, the company recently moved to mainstream premium chocolate brand Godiva.
Godiva was previously only available in the UK via its 12 own-stores and in premium retailers such as Harrods, Selfridges and John Lewis. But pladis’ Godiva Masterpieces will now enter 500 Sainsbury’s stores across the UK.
