maconda supports NPM Capital in its investment in Elbfrost, a leading German wholesaler of frozen products
maconda News July 2025
NPM Capital, a private equity firm headquartered in Amsterdam with offices in Ghent and Munich, is becoming the new growth partner for Elbfrost, a leading supra-regional food wholesaler with several logistics centers in Western and Eastern Germany. The new partnership aims to accelerate Elbfrost’s organic growth; it is NPM Capital’s first platform investment in the DACH region. The experienced Cologne-based consulting boutique maconda advised on the transaction with comprehensive Commercial Due Diligence, a market study, and various detailed analyses.
maconda is a leading provider of Commercial Due Diligence, including in the German food industry. The Cologne-based consulting firm has extensive experience across the entire value chain, including frozen foods. This encompasses everything from ingredient sourcing and production to distribution and utilization by contract catering companies, restaurant chains, and other food service providers. This knowledge background was invaluable in the transaction supported by maconda, as it helped NPM quickly and comprehensively familiarize itself with the company and its market – thereby compensating for the bottleneck of some desired data.
As usual, maconda investigated topics such as market structure and market development, competitive landscape, and customer structure. Above all, however, the sustainability of demand for frozen products within the served target group was to be examined. The growth potential also needed to be analyzed. In addition to expert interviews and leveraging maconda’s profound industry knowledge, a structured telephone survey was conducted with a three-digit number of companies from the target markets, which is also intended to provide impetus for Elbfrost after the CDD.
To evaluate Elbfrost’s positioning and performance, maconda utilized various analytical tools. This included developing a customized market model that allowed for an estimation of market size by segment and market share by customer group. Furthermore, a deep dive into specific sub-segments provided a forward-looking view of their individual dynamics and growth paths. The team also conducted various analyses of price/volume effects and customer development to assess revenue drivers and uncover key opportunities and risks. Gross profit was broken down and segmented by customer type to gain detailed insights into profit drivers.
About Elbfrost
Founded in 1990, Elbfrost has developed into a leading regional provider of frozen and dry products. The company is headquartered in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia, and operates four strategically located distribution centers in Western and Eastern Germany. Elbfrost offers a clearly defined, demand-oriented portfolio of 1,400 predominantly frozen products from the categories of meat, fish, poultry, game, fruit, vegetables, vegetarian products, as well as potato and pasta products. This assortment is complemented by a comprehensive range of convenience products.
Elbfrost primarily supplies customers in contract catering, where frozen products are becoming increasingly popular due to their long shelf life and ease of preparation. This target group includes kindergartens and schools, university canteens, hospitals and nursing homes, company canteens, and catering companies. In 2022, Elbfrost partnered with the private equity firm Bencis, also supported by Commercial Due Diligence from maconda. During this collaboration, the company laid the groundwork for an accelerated growth trajectory, including the strategic acquisition of A+K Kälte-Team.
About NPM
NPM Capital is a leading private equity firm headquartered in Amsterdam with offices in Munich and Ghent, successfully investing in growing mid-sized companies since 1948. It belongs to SHV Holding, one of Europe’s largest family-owned businesses, rooted in the Netherlands and active in over 60 countries. The investment in Elbfrost is part of NPM’s investment theme “Feeding the World,” which focuses on sustainability and innovation in the global food supply chain. The opening of an office in Munich and the first successful transaction mark an important step for NPM Capital to roll out its successful family investor philosophy in the German-speaking region. The maconda consultants are proud to have comprehensively supported NPM Capital in this first investment in Germany. The collaboration was excellent and trustful.
maconda further expands its expertise in food and value-added distribution
In recent years, the maconda team has gained extensive additional experience in a variety of food categories, including frozen foods and contract catering. This expertise encompasses numerous Commercial Due Diligence reviews, engagements for strategic realignment, and business model optimization in this sector.
Overall, maconda is one of the most active specialists for Commercial Due Diligence in the German-speaking market. Many projects focus on consumer goods and food distribution through retail, wholesale, and e-commerce channels, while other partners within maconda focus on different industries.
Extensive industry experience: Food retail of all kinds | numerous types of food, including frozen and ready meals, dietary supplements | packaging | contract catering, restaurant chains, and other out-of-home catering providers | delivery logistics | e-commerce | branded and private label products | and much more
About maconda
For over 20 years, maconda has been providing support in mergers & acquisitions, performance optimization, and restructuring. With over 800 consulting and implementation projects and more than 450 transaction-related engagements, maconda possesses extensive experience in pragmatically supporting even demanding projects. Clients include mid-sized companies, divisions of large corporations, as well as international private equity investors and family offices.
maconda Industry Expertise: Consumer Goods | Food | All Types of Retail | Manufacturing | B2B Services (incl. Business Process Outsourcing) | B2C Services | Future Technologies & Software
maconda Core Topics: Transaction Advisory | Business Model Development | Performance Management