Pladis
| Pladis Foods Limited | |
|---|---|
 | |
| |
| Type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | |
| Founded | January 2016 |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
| Key people |
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| Products | biscuit, chocolate, wafer, cake, gum, candy |
| Brands | |
| Revenue | |
Number of employees | 15,000+ (2025; including Godiva) |
| Parent | Yıldız Holding |
| Subsidiaries |
|
| Website | pladisglobal |
Pladis Foods Limited, trading as Pladis Global or simply Pladis (styled as pladis), is a British confectionery and snack foods company with its headquarters in London, England. The company operates 26 bakeries and factories and its products reach approximately four billion people worldwide in 110 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Pladis was formed in January 2016 when Yıldız Holding brought together its biscuit and confectionery businesses, including United Biscuits, Ülker, DeMet's Candy Company and Godiva, under a new global snacking subsidiary. United Biscuits' UK operating business became Pladis (UK) Limited, while DeMet's Candy Company became Pladis North America, Inc.
The Pladis name was inspired by the Pleiades constellation, a group of seven stars visible from anywhere on Earth.
History
Among its oldest constituent companies, McVitie's was established in Edinburgh in 1839. Jacob's was founded in Waterford in 1851 by Quaker brothers William and Robert Jacob. Verkade was founded in Zaandam, Netherlands in 1886 by Ericus Verkade. DeMet's Candy Company was founded in Chicago in 1898 by George DeMet. Godiva was founded in Brussels in 1926 by the Draps family, and Ülker in Istanbul in 1944 by brothers Sabri and Asim Ülker.
Yıldız Holding assembled its snacking portfolio through a series of acquisitions. In 2008, it acquired Godiva Chocolatier from Campbell Soup Company for $850 million. In 2014, Yıldız acquired DeMet's Candy Company for $221 million and United Biscuits, the parent company of McVitie's. In 2016, Yıldız unified these businesses to form Pladis as a single global snacking subsidiary. In 2023, Pladis began formally integrating Godiva into its brand portfolio; the process was completed in April 2024.
Brands
Pladis' portfolio spans biscuits, chocolate and confectionery. Its brands include McVitie's (Digestives, Jaffa Cakes, Hobnobs, Rich Tea, Penguin), Ülker, Godiva, Jacob's (Cream Crackers, Twiglets, Mini Cheddars; UK market only), Carr's, BN, Go Ahead, Flipz, Turtles, Verkade, Haansbro and Sultana.
- Ülker: a Turkish food and beverage brand with a presence in 80 countries. Ülker manufacturers of food products including biscuits and confectionery.
- United Biscuits includes McVitie's, a leading snack food brand in the UK and Europe as well as a top five UK Food Brand. In February 2016, United Biscuits released McVitie's Digestive Nibbles, reducing traditional biscuits to a bite-sized format. In January 2017, McVities launched a line of thinner chocolate digestives, meant to be a healthier alternative than traditional biscuits. In May 2017, Pladis announced it would be launching McVitie's biscuits in the US in 2018. Jaffa Cakes is a part of McVitie's, and was reformulated in 2017. McVities also produce Hobnobs, Rich Tea, Penguins, Jacob's cream crackers, Carr's water biscuits, Crawford's, Meredith and Drew and Go Ahead.
- DeMet's Candy Company, which includes Flipz and Turtles.
- Godiva: manufacturer of premium chocolates and related products, founded in Belgium in 1926 pladis sells Godiva in grocery channels. At the May 2017 Sweet & Snacks Expo in Chicago, Pladis launched Godiva Masterpieces, which included the top three best selling case pieces from Godiva boutiques in individually wrapped candies. The line was initially sold through Costco. At the same time, Pladis announced it was releasing a uniform formulation for Godiva chocolate which was based on the original Belgian recipe developed in 1926. In September 2017, Pladis launched the Godiva Masterpieces line in the UK, and announced a partnership in which Masterpieces would be carried in Sainsbury stores. Pladis partnered with supermarkets in the UK, North America, China, Turkey, Sweden and Saudi Arabia and other countries to sell the Masterpieces line.
References
- ↑ "Our leadership team". pladis. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Our brands". pladis. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "McVitie's owner pladis grows revenue to £3.3bn as branded portfolio proves resilient". pladis. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ pladis annual report 2025 (PDF) (Report). pladis. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Ulker Fin". International Finance Corporation. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Pladis Foods Limited overview - Find and update company information - Gov.uk". Companies House. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑
pladis annual report 2025, p. 2. - ↑ Eraz, Şeyma (16 March 2017). "Turkish chocolates seek to capitalize on MENA's sweet tooth". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "About us | pladis". www.pladisglobal.com. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
- ↑ Chaudhuri, Saabira (7 June 2016). "Yildiz Holding Splits Pladis into Separate Company". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "PLADIS (UK) LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Pladis North America, Inc. New York, NY - filing information". www.bizprofile.net. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "About us". Pladis. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ↑ "National biscuit day: 28 things you might not know about McVitie's". The Scotsman. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "A Crackin' New Exhibition Explores the History of Jacob's Biscuit Factory | Dublin City Council". www.dublincity.ie. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "One tough cookie: the business and branding of the Verkade biscuit company". www.europeana.eu. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ AP (20 December 2007). "Campbell Soup Sells Godiva for $850 Million". CNBC. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ Wood, Zoe (3 November 2014). "Jaffa Cakes and McVitie's maker sold to Turkish food group in £2bn deal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ Bamford, Vince (7 June 2016). "Pladis: Yildiz consolidates Godiva, Ulker, UB and DeMet's into new global business". BakeryAndSnacks.com. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ Myers, Anthony (8 April 2024). "pladis completes integration of GODIVA chocolates, with Steve Lesnard as president". ConfectioneryNews.com. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Our brands | pladis". www.pladisglobal.com. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Ülker - FIFA U-20 World Cup 2013 Marketing Highlights". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
- ↑ "Pladis: Yildiz consolidates Godiva, Ulker, UB and DeMet's into new global business". bakeryandsnacks.com.
- ↑ Daneshkhu, Scheherazade (12 March 2017). "McVitie's digestives to be taken global in ambitious expansion". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ↑ "United Biscuits launches McVitie's Nibbles". www.just-food.com. 9 February 2016.
- ↑ Reynolds, Mark (30 January 2017). "McVitie's launch new 'healthier' Digestive Thins at just 31 CALORIES a biscuit". Express.co.uk.
- ↑ Nieburg, Oliver (28 May 2017). "'Hello we're pladis': Godiva and McVitie's set for big US push". Confectionery News.
- ↑ Corbin, Tony (30 January 2018). "Anthem partners with pladis for Jaffa Cakes redesign".
- ↑ Walsh, Dominic. "World domination takes the biscuit" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ↑ Boult, Adam (3 February 2016). "Britain suffers 'biscuit drought' following McVities factory flood" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ↑ "Working a treat: HR at pladis Global". www.hrmagazine.co.uk.
- ↑ "One-on-One with Brian Blanchard, Managing Director of pladis Americas". www.candyindustry.com.
- ↑ "Pladis launches Godiva Masterpieces chocolate in UK". www.just-food.com. 4 September 2017.
- ↑ "Godiva enters mainstream supermarkets in bid to become $2bn brand". confectionerynews.com.
- ↑ AP (20 December 2007). "Campbell Soup Sells Godiva for $850 Million". CNBC. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
