The R&R Ice Cream Group –
Fast and Agile on its Way to the Top

Dr. Ibrahim Najafi, the new CEO Europe of the R&R Ice Cream Group.

With the appointment of Dr. Ibrahim Najafi as CEO Europe, and following an investment of millions of euros, the R&R Ice Cream Group is continuing to expand its position on the European market.

Najafi has been the R&R Ice Cream Group’s new CEO Europe since July 2009. Europe’s third-largest ice cream producer is relying on the 51-year-old Briton’s many years of experience. A member of the company’s management team for the last 10 years, he has more than 18 years of experience in the foodstuffs industry, gained as CEO of various English private label and brand manufacturers. In his new position he will manage the group’s continental European business – which includes four factories in Germany, Poland and France – from its head offices in Osnabrück, Germany.

“The R&R Ice Cream Group must be fast and agile like a speedboat, not lethargic or slow like a tanker. This is the only way we can react quickly, and in a targeted fashion, to the needs of consumers and the market,” said Najafi in describing his strategy. “Now that we’ve got up to speed, we must continue to expand the business with the help of innovations. And our well-trained and highly-motivated team – which already works effectively at the national and international level – provides the impetus for our continued success. So a spirit of cooperation is very important to me.”

With the help of targeted investments in personnel development and training, the R&R Ice Cream Group continues to build up the high knowledge level of its employees.

Continual investment in production and technology as well as in staff welfare and administration are the basis for continued growth of the company. Due to regular upgrading, the group’s factories are some of the most modern in Europe. In the last three years alone, 33 million euros have been spent on expanding the plant, buildings and infrastructure.

Spaghetti ice cream products move down R&R’s high-speed production line with tremendous precision.

Besides production and technology the R&R Ice Cream Group has also invested in employee welfare and administration. Additional office capacity headquarters in Osnabrück and the concentration of all departments in the main building made communication faster and better.

In order to expand its strong position in the European market, more investments worth another 14 million euros are planned for 2010, including new computing systems in order to achieve increasing efficiency and new production lines to accommodate further product innovation.
“Reacting flexibly to market and customer requirements is part of our strength,” said Najafi.

“The geographical distribution of our factories throughout Europe gives us a crucial advantage.

This enables us to produce innovative ice cream varieties close to consumers at low cost. New products and innovations are the core of our company, so we continually monitor the strongly competitive market in order to discern trends when they develop and to set new momentum. This means that with the private labels in particular we are able to offer innovative new products every year with which our retail partners can earn extra business in addition to the classical varieties.”

As Europe’s largest manufacturer of private labels, the R&R Ice Cream Group recently demonstrated its leadership in innovative products by entering the super premium products segment, thereby further consolidating this position in Europe.

Besides the good-selling private labels, the brand business offers the company an ideal supplementary line. After the German brand business was consolidated last year, the group is now concentrating exclusively on successful and independently-positioned brands.

Toggo “Sause Brause” (a kind of sherbet), for example, is promoted as the ultimate kick in the childrens’ segment. A favorite with mothers and children is the double stick ice cream from nimm2, which combines healthy vitamins with ice cream and invites kids to share it with friends. A successful entry to the health-food segment was the low-calorie products in the Weight Watchers line, as recipes for people who want to eat healthily are in great demand. For diabetics or people with a lactose intolerance, the group’s Nasch range offers a broad selection and leads the market in this segment. Lovers of particularly creamy ice cream continue to enjoy Landliebe ice cream with its traditional, homestyle recipes made of fresh cream and selected ingredients.