Uelzena’s Nutrineo business division incorporated into new BHI joint venture

18 May 2020 --- Uelzena will hold a 50 percent stake in Biohealth International, Münchberg (BHI) and will integrate its Nutrineo health food solutions business division into the joint company. The move is part of a strategy by the Northern German dairy group to strengthen its nutrition supplement business by forming a partnership in this fast-growing market. The partners want to develop the company into one of the leading providers in the health food market and plan to further expand production capacity at the site in Münchberg, Germany.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price, following the official signing of contracts in the last few days.

With this move, partners Stefan Gebhardt, MIDAS Private Equity and Uelzena wish to jointly serve the market for nutritional supplements, sports nutrition and dietary foods, Uelzena notes. Moreover, the partnership puts Uelzena in a strong market position for professional health food solutions.

BHI and Nutrineo have a joint turnover of approximately €45 million (US$48.6 million) and employ more than 200 staff at three sites in Germany and Austria. The new company offers a broad range of product solutions: from powdered blends in various small package sizes to capsules, tablets, ampoules and bars to liquid supplements and ready-to-drink beverages – all standard product categories are available to customers. As a contract manufacturer for brand products and retail, the joint company is characterized by its speed and professionalism, the partner companies note.

The new entity combines a broad product portfolio and has “tremendous capacity for innovation”, according to Uwe Radke, Managing Director of Uelzena, who is appointed along with Stefan Gebhardt to the Executive Management of BHI.

“With the joint venture, BHI and Nutrineo share the clear common objective of further developing their position as one of the leading providers in the private label health market,” says Jörn Dwehus, Managing Director of Uelzena. “The strengths in production expertise and quality of Uelzena/Nutrineo perfectly complement the flexibility and the broad product portfolio of BHI. We look forward to offering our customers an expanded range of services.”

“In the past few years, we have scrutinized several options as part of our growth strategy”, adds Dietmar Grillhofer from MIDAS Private Equity. “Investors focused purely on capital were not our preferred choice in view of our strategic development – with Uelzena we now have the perfect partner. Uelzena's strong local connections and expertise in producing the highest quality food will secure the further expansion of the BHI company group in the coming years in a rapidly growing health market.”

The completion of the transaction is pending the agreement of the German cartel authority.

Edited by Gaynor Selby