Lotus Bakeries facts for kids
2019
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| Public | |
| Traded as | Euronext: LOTB |
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1932, called "Banket- en Peperkoekbakkerij Lotus" |
| Founder | Jan, Emiel and Henri Boone |
| Headquarters | Lembeke, Kaprijke, Belgium. |
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Key people
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Jan Boone (CEO) |
Lotus Bakeries is a big company from Belgium that makes yummy snacks. It started way back in 1932. The company is famous for its special cookies called Speculoos. In many places like the United States and the United Kingdom, these cookies are known as Biscoff.
Besides Biscoff, Lotus Bakeries also owns other popular snack brands. These include nākd, TREK, BEAR, Kiddylicious, Peter’s Yard, Dinosaurus, Peijnenburg, and Annas.
Lotus Bakeries makes its products in many countries. They have factories in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, South Africa, and the United States. A new factory for Biscoff is being built in Thailand and will open in 2026. The company sells its snacks in about 70 countries around the world. About 3,000 people work for Lotus Bakeries.
Since 1988, you can buy shares of Lotus Bakeries on the stock market in Brussels. The families who started the company, the Boone and Stevens families, still own most of it. Jan Boone, who is the grandson of one of the founders, has been the main boss (CEO) since 2011.
Contents
How Lotus Bakeries Started
The company began in a town called Lembeke in Belgium in 1932. Three brothers named Jan, Emiel, and Henri Boone started it. Jan chose the name "Lotus" because the lotus flower stands for being pure and clean.
In the 1950s, the brothers started wrapping their Lotus Speculoos biscuits one by one. By 1956, these cookies were given out with coffee in restaurants and cafes in Belgium. Soon after, in 1960, Lotus Speculoos cookies were sent to nearby countries.
In 1974, Lotus joined with another company called Corona. This partnership meant Lotus Bakeries started making cakes and pastries too. Pre-packaged cakes were becoming very popular at that time.
The Story of Biscoff
The special Speculoos biscuit is now known as Lotus Biscoff. This name was first used in 1986 and slowly became popular everywhere. In the mid-1980s, many airlines started giving Lotus Biscoff cookies as a treat during flights.
Growing Bigger with New Brands
Since the 1990s, Lotus Bakeries has grown a lot by adding other companies and brands.
- In 1999, they added Suzy wafels.
- In 2006, they brought in gingerbread from Peijnenburg.
- In 2008, they added ginger cookies from Annas.
- In 2012, they bought the Dinosaurus brand and started making those products themselves in 2013.
Since 2015, Lotus Bakeries also started making healthy snacks. They bought three companies from Britain that make natural snacks.
- In 2015, they partnered with Natural Balance Foods. This company makes healthy snack bars under the nākd and TREK brands.
- In 2016, they bought BEAR, a brand that makes natural fruit snacks for kids.
- In 2018, they bought Kiddylicious, a British brand that makes snacks for babies and young children.
- In 2020, Lotus Bakeries took full control of Natural Balance Foods.
- Also in 2020, they created a new main office for their natural foods section in Switzerland.
- In 2022, they bought Peter's Yard, a British company that makes sourdough crackers and crispbreads.
Lotus Bakeries has also built many factories around the world.
- Biscoff cookies have always been made in Lembeke, Belgium. In 2019, a new factory opened in the United States, in North Carolina. This was the first time Biscoff was made outside Belgium. A third Biscoff factory is being built in Thailand and will open in 2026.
- Since 2019, a factory for the BEAR brand has been in South Africa. In early 2024, a factory for nākd products was built next to the BEAR factory.
- Other Lotus Bakeries products are made in their home countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Sweden.
How Lotus Bakeries is Run
Karel Boone, who is the son of the founder Jan Boone Sr., became a director in 1966. He was the main boss (CEO) of Lotus Bakeries for 32 years, from 1974 to 2006. He was also the president of the company for 46 years, from 1966 to 2012. In 2006, his brother Matthieu became the CEO. At the end of 2011, a new generation took over, and Jan Boone became the CEO.
The Executive Team
The Executive Committee is a group of people who decide the plans and goals for Lotus Bakeries. They then show these plans to the Board of Directors for approval.
- Jan Boone, CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
- Isabelle Maes, CMO Lotus Bakeries & CEO Natural Foods (Chief Marketing Officer)
- Mike Cuvelier, CFO (Chief Financial Officer)
- Ignace Heyman, COO (Chief Operating Officer)
- John Van de Par, CPO (Chief People Officer)
