Duas Rodas ripens fruit ingredients portfolio with Tropextrakt acquisition
19 Jan 2024 --- Duas Rodas, a Brazilian multinational producer of flavors, botanical extracts and ingredients for the food and beverage industry, has acquired 100% of Tropextrakt, a company based in Frankfurt, Germany.
The transaction is part of a new growth cycle for Duas Rodas, which will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary. The company is headquartered in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina, with production units in four countries and offices in the US and China. It recorded a total turnover of BRL1.6 billion (US$324.5 million) in 2023.
“We are a company based on excellence and constant innovation,” says Leonardo Fausto Zipf, president of Duas Rodas. “With the acquisition of Tropextrakt, we will create a business, research and innovation center for the European market.”
Tropextrakt imports and distributes botanical extracts and a wide variety of natural tropical fruit products, such as purees and concentrated juices, to around 1,000 customers.
In addition to supplying fundamental items to the manufacture of food and beverages, Tropextrakt operates a laboratory for testing the application of ingredients in the final product.
With the acquisition by Duas Rodas, this laboratory will be transformed into an innovation and technology center, which will expand the R&D of products aimed at the supplements and functional food industry.
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Tropextrakt imports and distributes botanical extracts and a variety of natural tropical fruit products, such as purees and concentrated juices.Functional foods and beverages in focus
The health food market is one of Duas Rodas’ main avenues of growth in the European market. In 2022, the market for functional beverages, functional foods and supplements generated US$380 billion globally and is expected to grow 6.5% per year until 2030, according to the company.
“The European market for botanical extracts and other ingredients for the production of nutraceuticals is one of the most sophisticated in the world,” says Rosemeri Francener, international business director at Duas Rodas. “From now on, we'll be closer to local customers to develop increasingly innovative, healthy and sustainable products in partnership.”
Tropextrakt is the fifth acquisition of Duas Rodas and the fourth outside of Brazil. The company currently has business units in the US, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and China, exporting to more than 40 countries.
The company from Santa Catarina offers food and beverage manufacturers more than 3,000 items aimed at formulating various foodstuffs.
The acquisition of Tropextrakt will be essential for Duas Rodas to continue to expand its exports. The international market represents, on average, 18% of the company’s total revenues and should reach 25% in the next four years without new acquisitions, or 45% with new purchases.
Five-year overview
Duas Rodas leads in several segments in Latin America, namely in flavors, textures and colors.
The Brazilian company produces more than three thousand items divided into three markets: Flavors (flavors, botanical extracts, condiments and additives, in addition to integrated solutions), Food Service (where it operates with the Selecta, Specialitá and Mix brands in the manufacture of ingredients for ice cream, chocolates and confectionery) and Animal Nutrition (ingredients for animal nutrition, with the Statera brand).
Duas Rodas is known for its Bitter Block technology, a natural aroma that rounds out flavors and synergistically eliminates bitter notes in drinks, such as caffeine supplements, those with high protein content and ready-to-drink teas.
Edited by Benjamin Ferrer
