Canadean Buys Packaging Specialist

UK soft drink and alcohol research consultancy Canadean has acquired food and packaging market research agency Landell Mills Consulting.

Landell Mills Consulting, part of the natural resource research group Landell Mills Ltd, was formed in 2000 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire through the merger of packaging specialist Marketpower with Landell Mills' food consulting operations. Its team of specialist project management staff is supported by a network of around 200 consultants and interviewers spread throughout most regions and countries of the world.

MD Dominic Cakebread will now head up Canadean's expanded global packaging consulting practice. Commenting on the move, he said: 'I believe we can add even more value to Canadean's remarkable beverage databases, and integrate our own food and packaging data with their systems to create a compelling offer for a broad range of packaging companies. This really is a very good fit.'

Canadean was founded in 1973 and its 130 staff and consultants around the world offer specialist support on commercial, strategic and marketing issues through its Wisdom attribute-based database containing data on the soft drinks, beer, dairy drinks and beverage packaging sectors. Headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire, the company also has local operations in Madrid, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Miami, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney and Moscow.

Chairman and CEO Kelsey van Musschenbroek said the deal will enable Canadean not only to strengthen its existing beverage packaging services, but also to move quickly into other areas of food and packaging.

Web sites: www.canadean.com and www.landell-mills.com .