Coffee roaster, Lavazza, expects revenue to reach €1.7 billion this year after completing the acquisition of French coffee brand Carte Noire.

The deal was concluded on February 29 following approval by the French competition Authority and European Commission. Turin based Lavazza now own a 20 per cent share of the French instant coffee market.

“The acquisition of Carte Noire by Lavazza unites two companies which are very similar in terms of their history, image level and culture of quality,” said Lavazza’s CEO, Antonio Baravalle.

“At the same time, the complementary nature of the respective consumption segments, which sees Lavazza among the leading brands on the French away-from-home market and Carte Noire in the retail segment, opens the way to significant development potential.”

In 2015, the group’s turnover exceeded €1.4 billion, representing growth of eight per cent. The coffee roaster said turnover forecast for 2016 is €1.7 billion after ‘internal growth and the contribution of new companies.’ In the past year, Lavazza have acquired Merrild, a Danish coffee roaster from DE Masterblenders, and also took over distribution in Australia with the company asserting it currently has 16 per cent of market share in the retail segment.

“It is a transaction that makes France, the country where we started our international expansion process in 1982, our second most important market after Italy: namely a hub of 500 employees with an estimated turnover in the region of 20 per cent of total group turnover, in the current year,” said Lavazza group vice president, Giuseppe Lavazza.

Want more Inside Retail? Subscribe to Inside Retail Weekly now and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.