Who owns Sperlari?
Sperlari is owned by Katjes International (Germany), which has owned the brand since 2017.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Katjes International GmbH & Co. KG - Securities prospectus for the 2023/2028 corporate bond, 1 September 2023. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Katjes International GmbH & Co. KG reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇩🇪 Germany, Emmerich am Rhein
- Origin
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Founded
- 1836 by Enea Sperlari
- Category
- Food › Confectionery › Candy & sugar confectionery
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Sperlari
Sperlari is the Italian confectionery business founded in 1836 by Enea Sperlari. In September 2017 Katjes International bought the whole brand business of Cloetta Italia and renamed it Sperlari S.r.l. The prospectus names Sperlari for Italian torrone nougat, boiled sweets and fruit gums, and the group's Saila liquorice, Galatine milk sweets, Dietorelle sugar-free sweets and Dietor sweetener. It says Sperlari was number two in Italian sugar confectionery by sales in 2022, runs four plants and is led by local management.
Ownership timeline of Sperlari
- 2017 – present Katjes International [1] reported
Where Sperlari sits in Katjes International
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Katjes International ownership tree →
See the full Katjes International brand portfolio (10) →
Other brands owned by Katjes International
Katjes International controls 10 brands on Brandtree, 8 of them in food.
Also in food
Other brands in candy & sugar confectionery, and who owns them
The 83 brands in candy & sugar confectionery on Brandtree belong to 36 owners. The largest is Cloetta, with 6; Katjes International has 5.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Ahlgrens bilar | Cloetta | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| Bottle Caps | Ferrero | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| Charleston Chew | Tootsie Roll | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bon Bon Bum | Colombina | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| Airheads | Perfetti Van Melle | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| Goldbears | Haribo | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Háls | Nói Síríus | 🇮🇸 Iceland |
| Jolly Rancher | Hershey | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: Katjes International
Katjes International is a privately held company headquartered in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany, founded in 1972. Brandtree records 10 brands under its control.
Katjes International is a family-run brand holding company based in Emmerich am Rhein that buys established confectionery and personal-care brands, often as carve-outs from larger groups. It was set up in 1972 to hold the Katjes group's property and now holds stakes in Sperlari, Dallmann's, Piasten, Bübchen, Candy Kittens and Harlekijntjes. It is a sister company of Katjes Fassin, the maker of the Katjes liquorice and fruit gums, and of Katjesgreenfood; the three are legally separate, so the Katjes brand itself does not belong to this company. It also holds about 23 per cent of the French confectioner CPK (Carambar), which is a minority holding and not listed here.
Katjes International: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇮🇹 Sperlari and other Italian brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 209 brands that began in Italy. 76 of them (36%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Sperlari among them.
- Academia Barilla — Barilla 🇮🇹
- Acquaviva — Vandemoortele 🇧🇪
- Alpenliebe — Perfetti Van Melle 🇳🇱
- Amalattea — Granarolo 🇮🇹
- Balconi — Valeo Foods 🇮🇪
- Bertagni — Ebro Foods 🇪🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Sperlari?
The parent company of Sperlari is Katjes International, a privately held company headquartered in Germany.
Is Sperlari Italian or German?
Sperlari originated in Italy in 1836, but it is owned today by Katjes International, which is headquartered in Germany. So Sperlari is an Italian-origin brand under German ownership.
Since when has Katjes International owned Sperlari?
Katjes International has owned Sperlari since 2017.
Is Sperlari still owned by Katjes International?
Yes. As of 4 October 2026, Sperlari is still owned by Katjes International. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Katjes International GmbH & Co. KG - Securities prospectus for the 2023/2028 corporate bond — Katjes International GmbH & Co. KG, Official document, published 1 September 2023; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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