maconda’s high expertise in dietary supplements also convinces in Arcus Capital’s investment in plant specialist Aplantis
maconda News December 2024
ARCUS Capital has acquired a majority stake in Aplantis, a quality importer of high-grade plant-based ingredients, primarily for dietary supplements and cosmetics. Through differentiated research and targeted interviews, maconda provided deep insights into this niche market, enabling a well-founded investment decision.
Aplantis has established itself as a quality leader in plant-based and biotechnologically produced raw materials. The company offers an extensive portfolio of plant powders and extracts, vital fungi, as well as marine products and enzymes for dietary supplements, food, animal feed, and cosmetics. The Cologne-based consulting firm maconda possesses particular expertise in less transparent niche markets across numerous industries and was able to present a differentiated analysis in this Due Diligence as well.
As always, the team utilized numerous different sources, which were compared, weighted, and combined for evaluation – including trade magazines and blogs, association information, and annual reports. “This once again demonstrated the advantage of our highly analytical approach, as general studies cannot reliably map specific markets – and in this dynamic industry, there is no reliable data anyway,” explains maconda managing director Rainer Mayer. In addition to data analysis, the maconda team conducted an interview program with customers and other market experts. Based on this, Aplantis’ growth plan was also put to the test.
As a result, maconda provided numerous pieces of evidence for Aplantis’ strong market positioning: The company impresses with its far above-average consulting expertise, excellent supplier relationships, and high flexibility and delivery capability. All of this in a market with many participants and high demands – for example, food safety, in particular, requires technically sophisticated laboratory performance and documentation. ARCUS Capital followed the positive assessment and decided to purchase a majority stake in Aplantis.
About Aplantis
Aplantis is a full-service provider for the global procurement of high-quality plant-based ingredients. The company, based in Weilheim, south of Lake Starnberg, offers high-quality natural raw materials for dietary supplements, food, beverages, cosmetics, pet food, and animal feed. The experienced team led by founder Dr. Robert Gick possesses extensive market and product expertise, as well as know-how in application technology and legal regulations.
About ARCUS Capital
ARCUS Capital is an investor based in Munich, focusing on investments in mid-sized companies in the DACH region. As an independent investor with a flexible investment horizon, ARCUS Capital invests its own capital as well as the capital of selected co-investors.
maconda further expands its expertise in dietary supplements, food, and wholesale
The maconda team has completed countless projects in dietary supplements, sports nutrition, food in general, and wholesale, and is undoubtedly among the most experienced consultants in the DACH region in these areas. This applies to all stages of the value chain: from raw materials to manufacturing (often organized as external contract manufacturing), product and recipe development, to marketing across all sales channels: food retail, drugstores, direct marketing (online and offline), fitness studios, and pharmacies for dietary supplements, and online platforms. maconda’s engagements include many Commercial Due Diligences, projects for strategic realignment and business model optimization, as well as for improving operational performance.
Intensive industry experience: dietary supplements and vitamins | conventional, plant-based, and organic-certified products | vegetarian and vegan products | protein and muesli bars | cereals | food in general | brand and private label | eCommerce & D2C | volume channels such as drugstores and food retail | Amazon & other marketplaces | athletes and lifestyle target groups | contract manufacturing | consumer goods of all kinds | and much more
About maconda
For more than 20 years, maconda has supported companies in acquisitions, performance optimization, and restructuring. With over 800 consulting and implementation projects and more than 450 transaction-related engagements, maconda has extensive experience to pragmatically accompany even demanding projects. Clients include mid-sized companies, business units of large corporations, as well as international private equity investors and family offices.
maconda Industry Expertise: Consumer Goods | Food | Retail & eCommerce | Packaging | B2C Services | B2B Services (incl. Business Process Outsourcing) | Future Technologies | Construction-Related Products & Services | Manufacturing Companies | Healthcare
maconda Core Topics: Commercial Transaction Services | business model development | performance management