Mokate pours into foreign markets

Mokate, the leading cappuccino producer in Poland, steamed into the Czech market with the acquisition of the country's leading hot-drinks producer, Timex. The value of the transaction was not disclosed. "The company's production profile is very much like our own," said Dr Jerzy Chrystowski, advisor to Mokate's board. Timex produces cappuccino, coffee mixes, hot chocolates as well as tea, sweeteners and coffee cream. The company's annual revenue is estimated at CZK300 (zł.41.75) million.

Mokate officials say they haven't finished yet. "We plan further acquisitions as well as our own investments in the region," Chrystowski said.

Mokate is already present on the Hungarian, Slovakian, Russian and Ukrainian markets through distribution companies. The acquisition of Timex will increase Mokate's presence in the Czech Republic as well as in Slovakia, where the Czech firm is one of the main players in the hot-drinks market. "We will also gain a stronger presence in the Baltic states and will enter the Austrian market," Chrystowski explained.

Foreign expansion seems a natural step for a company which doesn't have much more to win in Poland. According to Chrystowski, Mokate controls 80 percent of the Polish cappuccino market. It is also fifth in the coffee-mixes (three-in-one) market and is in the top three of Poland's tea segment.