KONINKLIJKE BOSKALIS WESTMINSTER NV-Royal Boskalis Westminster

What KONINKLIJKE BOSKALIS WESTMINSTER NV-Royal Boskalis Westminster does

Royal Merba is a Dutch family-owned industrial cookie manufacturer founded in 1920 and headquartered in Oosterhout, Netherlands. The company produces cookies primarily under private label and store-brand arrangements for major retailers worldwide, with a secondary own-brand presence through the Originals Edition and Patisserie Edition product lines. It operates a single-site 50,000 m² high-tech manufacturing facility equipped with 130+ robots, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), 450-meter production lines, proprietary chocolate processing (developed in 2016), and heat recovery systems covering 80%+ of production. The facility manages 80+ recipes across more than 800 packaging configurations and produces millions of cookies daily, supported by a modernized R&D and quality service opened in 2024.

The company's go-to-market is B2B-led through private label contracts with European retail chains; pricing is negotiated rather than publicly disclosed, and the multilingual corporate website (five languages) serves primarily as a recruitment and corporate information channel rather than a direct-to-consumer storefront. Royal Merba holds sustainability certifications (RSPO, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance) and was granted the Royal Warrant (Koninklijk Predicaat) by the King of the Netherlands in 2020 to mark its centenary. Vertical integration was extended in 2022 through the acquisition of Packaging Steenbergen, a plastic packaging producer for the food industry with capacity of approximately 10,000 pallets, securing tray supply and packaging process control. The company is led by the Boorman family (Wim and Jan Jr.) with Jan den Hartog on the management board since 2002, and employs approximately 360 colleagues.

Name

KONINKLIJKE BOSKALIS WESTMINSTER NV-Royal Boskalis Westminster

Legal name

Koekjesfabriek Merba B.V.

Website

https://merba.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Cookie Manufacturing

NAICS

Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Cookies & Crackers (2052)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale / Commercial Bakeries (B2B Supply) (THAFAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Bakery Manufacturing (Gluten-Free, Artisan, Health-Focused) (AFAKAAAG)

Keywords

• Industrial cookie manufacturing
• Private label cookies
• Automated bakery production
• Confectionery manufacturing
• Retail brand cookies

Headquarters

HQ city

Oosterhout

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Private Label Cookie Manufacturing: Royal Merba produces cookies under store/private labels for retailers. The cookies are sold under retailer brands in shops worldwide. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Own Brand Products: Royal Merba produces and sells cookies under their own brand, with Originals Edition and Patisserie Edition product lines available in retail stores

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Royal Merba is an industrial bakery that manufactures high-quality cookies at scale, primarily as private-label and store-brand products for retailers worldwide. Operating from a 50,000 m² automated facility in Oosterhout, Netherlands, the company produces 80+ recipes across 800+ packaging configurations for major retail chains. It also sells its own Merba-branded cookie lines (Originals Edition and Patisserie Edition) through retail channels.

Product overview

Royal Merba is a family-owned Dutch cookie manufacturer producing high-quality cookies for the global market. The company operates a single-site high-tech factory in Oosterhout, Netherlands, producing cookies under two main product lines: the Originals Edition (premium cookies including chocolate chip, fruit-filled, and filled varieties) and the Patisserie Edition (upscale cookies in 200g family bags). Key products include chocolate chip cookies, brownie cookies, caramel cookies, and nougatelli cookies. The company also operates its own chocolate production line to ensure quality control and acquired Packaging Steenbergen in 2022 for plastic packaging production. Production facilities span 50,000 m2 with 130+ robots, 450-meter production lines, and AGV solutions for fully automated operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Originals Edition Cookies Royal Merba's premium own-brand cookie line featuring chocolate chip cookies, fruit-filled cookies, and filled cookies with flavors including caramel, nougat and triple chocolate, sold through retail channels.
• Patisserie Edition Cookies Royal Merba's upscale own-brand cookie collection sold in 200-gram family bags, including Double Chocolate, White Chocolate Cranberry, Dark Chocolate Hazelnut and Soft Muffin Cookies.
• Famous Chocolate Cookies Original chocolate chip cookie recipe using chocolate pieces from two sorts of chocolate, combining soft chocolate with crunchy biscuit; flagship cookie SKU.
• Kletsmajoors Traditional Dutch butter cookie that has been a Merba staple since the 1972 recipe change, popular as a coffee-time cookie.
• Private-label / store-brand cookie manufacturing B2B contract manufacturing of cookies sold under major retailers' own private-label/store brands, leveraging Merba's 80+ recipes and 800+ packaging configurations.
• Packaging Steenbergen plastic food-packaging production Wholly-owned subsidiary operation developing and producing plastic packaging (vacuum-formed trays and containers) for the food industry, supplying Royal Merba and other customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 44% energy reduction compared to 2012
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Packaging SteenbergencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Acquired in 2022 when their tray supplier went bankrupt. Packaging Steenbergen specializes in developing and producing plastic packaging for the food industry. This strategic acquisition gives Royal Merba more control over the supply chain, ensures quality, and optimizes production processes. Located in Steenbergen (NB) with production and distribution capacity of approximately 10,000 pallets.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pladis Global: Owner of McVitie's, Godiva and Carr's, pladis is one of Europe's largest biscuit manufacturers with broad branded and private-label exposure. Larger portfolio and scale than Royal Merba, but operates in the same cookies/biscuits category with overlapping retailer relationships.
• Yildiz Holding / United Biscuits: Turkish conglomerate owning United Biscuits (UK) and several European cookie/biscuit brands. Significant private-label and branded biscuit manufacturing across Europe, competing for similar retailer contracts at larger scale.
• Mondelez International: Global snacks giant owning Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, BelVita, Milka and LU biscuits. Operates at vastly larger scale than Royal Merba but defines the cookie category's branded competitive set and the benchmark against which private-label buyers negotiate.

Direct peers

• Biscuit International: Pure-play European private-label biscuit and cookie manufacturer supplying retailer brands across multiple countries. Directly competes with Royal Merba for the same private-label cookie contracts with European grocers.
• Bahlsen: Bahlsen is a German family-owned biscuit and cookie manufacturer with a comparable mix of branded products (PickUp, Leibniz) and private-label supply to European retailers. Operates at larger scale than Merba but with an almost identical B2B-plus-own-brand model in the same product category.
• Lotus Bakeries: Belgian family-controlled cookie and caramelised-biscuit (Biscoff) company producing branded cookies plus co-manufactured/private-label volumes. Highly comparable heritage, geography and category focus to Royal Merba.
• La Lorraine Bakery Group: Belgian industrial bakery group producing bread, pastry and cookie products for European retail and foodservice customers. Directly comparable B2B/private-label bakery manufacturer with multi-category production and similar European geographic focus.
• Dare Foods: Canadian family-owned cookie and cracker manufacturer with private-label and branded segments. Comparable family-business structure, similar private-label-plus-own-brand model in cookies, and similar mid-market scale.
• Walkers Shortbread: Scottish family-owned shortbread and cookie maker exporting globally with a mix of branded and private-label supply. Similar heritage business, comparable premium/private-label positioning and similar size profile to Royal Merba.

Regional players

• Colussi Group: Italian family-controlled biscuit and cookie manufacturer with branded products and private-label supply primarily across Southern Europe. Comparable family-owned heritage and private-label model, though focused on the Italian/Mediterranean market rather than Royal Merba's core Northern Europe footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/merbacookies
• Facebookfacebook.com/Merbacookies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/banketbakkerij-merba

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KONINKLIJKE BOSKALIS WESTMINSTER NV-Royal Boskalis Westminster