Perfetti Van Melle Group B.V.

What does Perfetti Van Melle own?
Perfetti Van Melle owns a portfolio of more than 20 confectionery and chewing gum brands. Key global brands include Mentos (chewy mints and candy), Chupa Chups (lollipops), Trident (sugar-free gum), Dentyne (chewing gum), Airheads (chewy candy), Alpenliebe (caramels and hard candies), Fruittella (fruit candies), and Bubblicious (bubble gum). The company also owns regional brands including Center Fresh and Chloromint (India) and Happy Dent (China).

Is Perfetti Van Melle publicly traded?
No, Perfetti Van Melle is not publicly traded. The company is privately owned by the Perfetti and Van Melle families and is not listed on any stock exchange. The group holding company, Perfetti Van Melle Group B.V., is registered in Schiphol, Netherlands. Because it is privately held, the company does not file detailed public financial reports.

Who founded Perfetti Van Melle?
Perfetti Van Melle was formed in 2001 through the merger of two family-owned confectionery companies. Perfetti S.p.A. was founded in 1946 by brothers Ambrogio and Egidio Perfetti in Lainate, Italy. Van Melle N.V. was founded in 1900 by Izaak van Melle in Breda, Netherlands. The merger combined the two companies into a single group while maintaining both families as owners.

Where is Perfetti Van Melle headquartered?
Perfetti Van Melle's group office is in Schiphol, Netherlands, near Amsterdam, where the holding company Perfetti Van Melle Group B.V. is registered. The company also maintains operational headquarters in Lainate, Italy (the original Perfetti base) and Breda, Netherlands (the original Van Melle base). Regional headquarters are located in Shanghai (Asia) and Erlanger, Kentucky (North America).

How many brands does Perfetti Van Melle own?
Perfetti Van Melle owns more than 20 brands globally. The most prominent are Mentos, Chupa Chups, Trident, Dentyne, Airheads, Alpenliebe, Fruittella, and Bubblicious. The company also owns regional brands including Center Fresh, Center Fruit, and Chloromint in India, and Happy Dent and Coolair in China.

Who owns Perfetti Van Melle?
Perfetti Van Melle is privately owned by the Perfetti and Van Melle families. The exact ownership percentages are not publicly disclosed. The company has remained under family ownership since its formation in 2001 and has not taken on external institutional investors. The families also own the Egidio Perfetti Maralago estate and other private investments.

What is Perfetti Van Melle's financial performance?
Perfetti Van Melle reported net revenue of approximately 4 billion euros in 2025, according to the company's website. The company employs approximately 18,000 people and operates 30 manufacturing facilities in more than 150 countries. Detailed financial statements including profit margins and net income are not publicly disclosed, as the company is privately held.

The two companies that merged to form Perfetti Van Melle have separate histories dating back to the early 20th century. Perfetti S.p.A. was founded in 1946 by brothers Ambrogio and Egidio Perfetti in Lainate, near Milan, Italy. The company started as a small confectionery producer and grew into one of Italy's largest candy manufacturers, known for brands including Alpenliebe and Mentos (which it later acquired from Van Melle as part of the merger).

Van Melle N.V. was founded in 1900 by Izaak van Melle in Breda, Netherlands. The company produced a range of candies and became known for Mentos, which it launched in 1932 as a chewy mint. Van Melle expanded internationally in the second half of the 20th century, establishing operations across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

In March 2001, Perfetti S.p.A. and Van Melle N.V. merged to form Perfetti Van Melle Group B.V. The merger created one of the largest confectionery companies in the world by combining Perfetti's strong presence in Italy, Asia, and the Middle East with Van Melle's international distribution network and the Mentos brand. The merger was structured as a cross-border combination, with the group holding company registered in the Netherlands.

In July 2006, Perfetti Van Melle acquired Chupa Chups S.A., the Spanish lollipop company founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat. Chupa Chups was known globally for its lollipop on a stick, and the acquisition added one of the most recognized candy brands in the world to Perfetti Van Melle's portfolio. The acquisition price was not publicly disclosed.

In October 2023, Perfetti Van Melle agreed to acquire Mondelez International's developed-market chewing gum business. The acquisition, completed in 2024, included Trident, Dentyne, Bubblicious, and other gum brands in North America and parts of Europe. The deal significantly expanded Perfetti Van Melle's presence in the chewing gum category, particularly in the United States, where it had previously had limited market share. The acquisition price was not publicly disclosed.

As of 2025, Perfetti Van Melle reported net revenue of approximately 4 billion euros, an increase from the approximately 2.5 billion euros reported in prior years. The revenue growth was driven partly by the Mondelez gum acquisition and partly by organic growth in emerging markets, particularly India and China.

Perfetti Van Melle's sustainability strategy focuses on sustainable sourcing, packaging innovation, and environmental responsibility. The company has set targets for reducing its environmental footprint across manufacturing operations and supply chains.

Packaging sustainability is a focus area, given the confectionery industry's reliance on single-use packaging. Perfetti Van Melle has committed to increasing the use of recyclable materials in its packaging and reducing overall packaging weight. The company faces the same plastic waste scrutiny as other confectionery manufacturers, though it is less exposed than larger publicly traded competitors because of its private status and lower public profile.

The company sources ingredients including sugar, glucose, and gum base from global suppliers. Perfetti Van Melle maintains supplier codes of conduct addressing labor practices and environmental standards. The company has not publicly disclosed detailed supply chain audit results, as is common for privately held companies of its size.

Perfetti Van Melle is not a Certified B Corporation and does not publish a standardized ESG report comparable to publicly traded peers. Sustainability information is available on the company's website but is less detailed than disclosures from listed companies like Nestle or Mondelez.