DAVA Foods

DAVA Foods A/S (formerly Hedegaard Foods A/S) is a Danish food manufacturing, distribution and packing company based in Hadsund, Denmark, specialising in eggs and plant-based foodstuffs. The group has subsidiaries in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia and is the largest supplier of whole fresh eggs in the Nordic region.^[1] In 2008, it became a subsidiary of Dan Agro Holding A/S, a division of DLA Group, and since 2023 has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Danish Agro.

As of 2020^[update], DAVA Foods has divisions in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia,^[2] and a packaging division, and also exports its products primarily to the Faeroes, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania,^[3] Great Britain, the Middle East,^[4] and Latvia.^[5] The group's products include fresh eggs and pasteurised and boiled egg products,^[3] egg white-based sports nutrition products,^[6] and plant-based foodstuffs including spices, cooking oils, seeds, and legumes.^[7]

As of 1 April 2025^[update], DAVA Foods was the third largest egg producer in Europe, with 7.4 million laying hens.^[8] In 2018 the group had a turnover of €179 million;^[2] as of March 2019^[update], turnover was approximately kr.130 million and the company had approximately 300 employees;^[5] in 2024 the company was projecting a profit of kr.24.6 million (€3.98m) for the 2023 fiscal year, up from kr.16.0 million (€2.1m) in 2022.^[6]

History

Hedegaard Foods originated in the 1980 purchase by the Danish conglomerate Hedegaard A/S [da] of Farm Æg, a small egg producer in Hadsund; the company changed its name to Hedegaard Foods in 1999.^[9]^[10] In 2008 Dan Agro Holding, a division of DLA Group, acquired the company from Hedegaard.^[10]^[11] The company moved to a larger facility in Hadsund in 2014.^[12]^[13]

The company expanded by acquisitions, including of the third-largest egg packer in Denmark, Brødrene Honum in 2002, which also diversified the company into food manufacturing,^[9]^[14]^[15] and the fourth-largest, Møllebjerggård Æg, in 2010.^[16] In 2011–2013, they acquired Svenska Lantägg AB, the largest egg packing company in Sweden.^[17]^[18] In 2014 they acquired a 50% share in Munakunta, the largest egg packing and pasteurised egg production company in Finland, and established a Finnish subsidiary, Muna Foods Oy.^[19]^[20] In 2015 they acquired OU Koks Munatootmine in Estonia from HKScan.^[21]^[22]^[23] After their name change to DAVA Foods, they acquired a controlling interest in the Norwegian company Eggprodukter AS in 2016,^[24] and in the Finnish company Närpes Äggpackeri Ab in 2019.^[5]^[25]

In August 2014, the company recalled a significant proportion of their products after finding salmonella contamination which was traced to eggs from a farm in Grindsted.^[26]^[27]^[28]

Hedegaard Foods changed its name in November 2015 to DAVA Foods (for Danish Agro and Vestjyllands Andel [da], the majority shareholders), but continued to market its products under the names of its various subsidiaries^[1] except in Estonia, where it introduced the Eggo brand.^[29]^[30] In the second half of 2019, the Hedegaard brand name was phased out in Denmark.^[4]^[21]^[22]^[31]

With the acquisition in 2021 of a controlling interest in Møllerup Brands and in 2022 of Karlsens Krydderier A/S, DAVA Foods added a division for the production of plant-based and gluten-free foodstuffs sourced in Denmark, Dava Foods Ingredients A/S.^[21]^[32] In 2023, Danish Agro bought out Vestjyllands Andel's share in the company and became sole owner.^[22]

History

References

External links

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