History
How Smilde Foods was established
Smilde Foods has found its
origin in 2010 as part of Royal Smilde following the merger of Romi
Smilfood and FanoFineFood. Smilde Foods may be a young organisation, but
it has a rich history. In 1863, Arend Smilde purchased the first business premises in Heerenveen. After years of focusing primarily on slaughtering cattle and melting fats, from the 1960s the emphasis shifted more towards refining and blending fats into high quality raw materials for the professional market. At the beginning of the 1970s, the company took over a number of margarine factories, including Benninga´s Friesche Margarine Fabrieken in Leeuwarden. With it came the Bebo brand. In 1978, new business premises were built in Heerenveen, and the margarine companies were merged under the name Smilfood. In 1986, the company took over production at Rotterdamse Margarine Industrie in Vlaardingen, with the Romi brand name. Romi and Smilfood merged in 1998 to form the Margarine, Oils and Fats Business Unit.
FanoFineFood’s history dates back to the 1830s. As two separate companies, Fano of Oosterwolde and FineFood of Emmen manufactured products such as hearty soup and French fries for both professional users and consumers. Both organisations were also active in the salads market. Their ranges complemented each other well. In around 1980, Smilde Holding acquired both companies and brought them together under a new Business Unit: Chilled Fresh. Over the following years FanoFineFood grew, partly through the acquisition of Abee Salades in The Hague and Profood in Oldenzaal.
