Fresh prepared food giant Bakkavör will increase its sales to almost €5bn (£4bn) by 2012 from last year's €1.8bn (£1.5bn) through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, the company's chief executive ágúst Gudmundsson has claimed.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Gudmundsson claims that Bakkavör is
the only fresh prepared food business in the world 'that has gone really international'.

Following its impressive rise in the UK market, where sales of various prepared products including fresh salads and fresh-cut fruit have driven its sales expansion, retailers around the world are said to be interested in replicating such growth.

For its part, Bakkavör already supplies seven of the world's top 10 food retailers. 'We find tremendous interest all over the world for the products that we make,' Mr Gudmundsson told the newspaper.

China, where Bakkavör has been active for three years, is a market where growth may be possible, added Mr Gudmundsson. 'There is more and more demand `in China`,' he said. 'We are quite excited about that opportunity.'

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