Siro, a success story in collaboration between the food industry and distribution channels

Luis Ángel López, CEO of Cerealto, was given the opportunity at the 1st Food & Beverage Industry Meeting on 5 February in Mexico to explain both the joint success achieved by Grupo Siro and Mercadona and the way in which Cerealto is replicating this successful business model in other international markets.

Collaboration and internationalisation are two key factors against this backdrop of momentum and growth within the food and beverage sector. Furthermore, collaboration between the food industry and the distribution sector is essential for completing the chain and adding genuine value to each link, including the end consumer.

Hence, Cerealto seeks to establish the successful business model that Grupo Siro has developed with Mercadona in Spain overseas by providing solutions that meet the needs of its international clients and that respond to consumption trends in each market. Only three years since operations were first launched, Cerealto posted revenue of 69 million euros and production of 45,000 tonnes of product in 2014 with approximately 180 partners, “including significant partnerships that will help us consolidate our strategic projects in the international markets”, explained Luis Ángel López, CEO. Jointly organised by the IPADE Business School and the IESE Business School, two prestigious business schools in Mexico and Spain, respectively, under a slogan of ‘Internationalisation and Collaboration: driving forces for growth in the sector’, this event was attended by over 160 executives from various companies in the food and beverage industry to share experiences, the keys to success, best practices and lessons learned from difficulties faced in the international markets. The event was attended by Andrew Briscoe, Chairman of The Sugar Association, and Lisa Gable, Chairwoman of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, who provided examples of collaboration between the industry and society aimed at healthy eating; as well as Javier González Franco, Assistant Managing Director of Grupo Bimbo, Héctor Hernández-Pons Torres, Managing Director of Grupo Herdez, and Francisco Crespo, Chairman of Coca-Cola México, among others.