Kraft's position in the region's biscuit market is thanks to its acquisition of the Iberian operations of British biscuit maker United Biscuits in September 2006 and the worldwide biscuit operations of French dairy giant Danone in November 2007. With the new CEO of KBI, Giuseppe Colotte, ruling out further acquisitions, the future growth of this new subsidiary will depend on the buoyancy of the biscuits sector in Spain and Portugal.
Kraft's own figures suggest that per capita biscuit consumption in Spain is around the European average at 4.7kg per year. This is well below the U.K. -- Europe's largest biscuit market -- where consumption is over 8kg per year, but the sector has been recording vigorous growth until recently thanks to the country's buoyant economy and associated increase in consumer affluence.