Tofu maker Pulmuone acquires Vitasoy USA for $50m

South Korea-based tofu manufacturer Pulmuone has acquired all the assets of Asian food supplier Vitasoy USA for $50m.

Based in Massachusetts, US, Vitasoy owns Nasoya, Azumaya and San Sui brands.

The completion of the acquisition will boost Pulmuone’s position in the tofu markets of the US, China and Japan amongst others.

Pulmuone chief executive H Y Lee was quoted by Food Ingredients First as saying: "Pulmuone now has a strong national platform and presence that will not only drive manufacturing and logistical synergies, but will also enable us to leverage a comprehensive sales and distribution infrastructure to further drive availability of our brands and products within the US."

"This expands business scale within the US market will also be the beachhead for drive development and growth of Pulmuone beyond the tofu category."

According to Pulmuone, the deal will enable it to make cost savings on logistics, as well as to simplify its processes.

Operational in the US market since 1991, Pulmuone has sales of approximately $1.5bn every year, reported Dairy Reporter.

The company currently owns 25 affiliates, including Pulmuone USA.

Vitasoy has been manufacturing tofu, noodles, wraps, juice and teas, vegan sandwich spreads, hummus and soy milk for more than 30 years in the US.

The company has supplier deals with major US retailers such as Safeways and Wal-Mart.