Mexican bakery products manufacturer Grupo Bimbo has expanded its presence in Kazakhstan by establishing a joint venture (JV) with Food Town.

Food Town is the exclusive buns supplier and franchisee of McDonald’s in Kazakhstan.

By establishing the JV, Grupo Bimbo intends to strengthen the manufacturing footprint of its subsidiary Bimbo QSR.

Bimbo QSR president Mark Bendix said: “It is our priority to meet the needs of our QSR customers worldwide and we will continue to invest in our business to achieve it.

“This operation in Kazakhstan is well-positioned to meet the growing demand of our customers in the region.”

Grupo Bimbo will hold a 51% stake in the new JV company.

Through this new initiative, it aims to strengthen its relationship with quick-service restaurants (QSR) clients in Central Asia.

With this new joint venture, it has expanded its operations in 33 countries across the globe.

It expects operations to conclude during the first quarter of this year.

In July 2017, Grupo Bimbo signed a $650m agreement to acquire foodservice-focused company East Balt Bakeries (East Balt).

Founded in 1955, the US-based East Balt produces and supplies buns, English muffins, bagels, artisanal bread and other baked goods to QSR across the globe.

East Balt operates 21 bakeries located across the US, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, including two JVs.