Lotus speculoos is world’s fifth most
popular biscuit (2024)
Total sales rose 21 per cent in 2023, to 1.062 billion euros. About half of that came from sales of Biscoff, the brand that includes speculoos biscuits, speculoos paste and speculoos ice cream.
The biscuit is in the top five of the world’s most popular biscuits for the first time this year. The top 5 is compiled by Euromonitor, based on global supermarket figures. Oreo biscuit features in first place, in second place it’s Chips Ahoy! Biscoff is in 5th place.
Lotus Bakeries CEO Jan Boone wants his speculoos biscuit eventually to make it into the Top 3. Although that will take some time, he admits. "Just to jump to place 4, we will have to double sales," he explains.
Lotus sells most of its speculoos biscuits in the US with the US market accounting for 25 per cent of Biscoff sales.
Five per cent of US households have a Lotus speculoos biscuit in their cupboard. "We are on the shelves of 80 per cent of all supermarkets in the US," says Boone.
All these caramelised biscuits are baked in Lembeke (East Flanders) and in a factory in the US. A 3rd factory should become operational in Thailand in 2026.
Dinosaur biscuits
The other half of the company’s turnover comes from “healthy snacks” and "local heroes": well-known brands in the home markets of Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Sweden. These include, for example, the Dinosaur biscuits.
For the first time last year the turnover of Flemish biscuit manufacturer Lotus Bakeries
Lotus Bakeries
The company was founded in Lembeke in 1932 by the brothers Jan, Emiel and Henri Boone. Jan named it Lotus, after the flower that symbolises purity. In the 1950s, the brothers began to package the Lotus Speculoos biscuits individually, and from 1956 they were offered in Belgian catering establishments alongside coffee.
1. Parle-G Biscuits – World's Largest Selling Biscuit Brand. Parle-G is a childhood memory of many Indians. Parle Products Private Limited owns the largest and most consumed biscuit brand in India.
In the 1950's, baker Boone starts wrapping the biscuits individually. It's eagerly snapped up by cafés and restaurants as the biscuit to be served with a coffee. It's an instant hit because taste wise, coffee and the caramelised biscuit have complementary profiles. They boost each other's flavour.
Lotus and its speculoos or Biscoff cookies are a worldwide success. So much so, in fact, that it's the fifth most popular cookie in the world! The cookie was developed almost a century ago by Jan Boone, the grandfather of the current CEO of Lotus.
The name Biscoff is a combination of 'biscuit' and 'coffee. ' The traditional caramelized spiced biscuit was enjoyed alongside coffee for decades in Europe, particularly Belgium and the Netherlands.
Pillai became known in India as the 'Biscuit King' or 'Biscuit Baron'. He took over Nabisco's other Asian subsidiaries. Pillai then established links with Boussois-Souchon-Neuvesel (BSN), the French food company, and by 1989 controlled six Asian companies worth over US$400 million.
The Romans certainly had a form of biscuit, what we'd now call a rusk and, as the name suggests, it was essentially bread which was re-baked to make it crisp. It kept for longer than plain bread, and was useful for travellers and soldiers' rations.
Speculoos, the cookie family to which Biscoff belong, are often described as a type of gingerbread, but that's a little misleading. Aside from their use of caramel sugar, speculoos don't have quite the same bite; their spice blend tends toward aroma rather than heat.
In Europe, Lotus Speculoos is the most recognized brand. This manufacturer supplied the biscuits individually packaged to the catering industry. In the United States and the United Kingdom, the same company is branded as Lotus Biscoff, short for biscuit with coffee.
The company has around 3,000 employees and achieved a revenue of EUR 1,063.0 million in 2023. Since 1988 the shares of Lotus Bakeries are listed on Euronext Brussels. Most are owned by the Boone and Stevens families. Jan Boone, grandson of founder Jan Boone Sr., has been the CEO since 2011.
Speculoos is a spiced shortbread cookie that originated in Belgium. Today, speculoos cookies are popular all across Europe and often served during holidays and special occasions. They're often made in fun shapes such as windmills.
Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world. It is now sold in over 100 countries. Oreo was first produced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, now known as Na-Bis-Co.
Huntley & Palmers is a British company of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. Formed by Joseph Huntley in 1822, the company became one of the world's first global brands (chiefly led by George Palmer who joined in 1841) and ran what was once the world's largest biscuit factory.
In 2008, Natchez Mississippi was named the Biscuit Capital of the World, a title they claimed themselves after extensive research to make sure they were the only ones to be the Biscuit capital, and to justify the distinction.
The best-selling cookie in the world is none other than the Oreo. This iconic sandwich cookie has been delighting consumers since its introduction in 1912. With its classic combination of two chocolate wafers and a sweet, creamy filling, the Oreo has become a beloved treat for people of all ages.
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