Nutresa buys Venezuelan ice cream maker Tío Rico for $30m
Colombia's Grupo Nutresa is paying $30 million for Tío Rico, a move that secures immediate market dominance in Venezuela and signals renewed foreign investor confidence in the country's consumer sector.
Grupo Nutresa has agreed to buy 100% of Venezuelan ice cream manufacturer Industrias Tío Rico for approximately $30 million. The deal, announced on July 21, 2026, hands the Colombian processed-food group control of a business that commands more than 55% of the local ice cream market. The seller is Mack de Venezuela.
The acquisition includes a 210,000-square-meter industrial complex in Guacara, Carabobo state, alongside five distribution centers that span the country. Nutresa also acquires Tío Rico’s entire brand portfolio, which features household names like Bati Bati, Crema Real, and Chocolito. Securing such a dominant market position outright is a rare achievement in consumer goods.
Nutresa is not limiting the Guacara facility to domestic sales. According to Colombian magazine Semana, the company plans to use the plant as an export platform targeting Colombia, the Caribbean, and the United States. Venezuela and the US are Nutresa’s two priority growth markets for 2026.
The acquisition reflects the aggressive deal-making strategy of Nutresa’s controller, Colombian financier Jaime Gilinski, and his partner Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company. Bloomberg identified Gilinski as the architect of the Tío Rico purchase. Under his leadership, Nutresa has systematically targeted established local brands that already possess deep consumer trust rather than building market share from scratch.
For investors, the transaction is a tangible indicator that sophisticated regional players are committing capital to Venezuela again. The deal suggests a calculated wager that consumer demand will expand as the country’s economy gradually stabilizes and reopens. It may also prompt other multinationals to re-evaluate their exposure to Venezuelan consumer assets.
Tío Rico has survived decades of economic volatility since its 1952 founding, passing through the hands of Grupo Cisneros and Unilever before this sale. Nutresa has not announced plans to alter the brand's recipes or identity. Preserving the legacy of acquired local brands has become a hallmark of the company's regional expansion.
