In this article, the company Döhler will be analyzed through its overview, targeted market segmentation, a list of the Company’s applications and solutions, and a list of the Company’s core natural ingredients.
Döhler Ventures and the acquisition of Frikos will be touched upon. The core part of this article will present past acquisitions made by Döhler in the previous 10 years. The list will be accompanied by necessary explanations where such might be needed.
Finally, the article concludes with the author’s remarks regarding Döhler, and how the author views its potential prospective M&A activity.
Introduction
Döhler is a global producer, marketer, and provider of technology-driven natural ingredients, ingredient systems, and integrated solutions for the global food, beverage, and nutrition industry.
Döhler is all about mastering sensory performance and nutrition. Döhler’s ingredients are derived from natural raw materials. The comprehensive product portfolio of natural ingredients ranges from natural flavors, natural colors, natural health ingredients, and a broad range of plant-based ingredients to ingredient systems and end-to-end solutions.
Headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, with more than 45 production sites, 75 offices and application centers, Döhler creates value for customers in over 160 countries. More than 9,500 dedicated employees, including 1,000 people in R&D, focused on science, technology and innovation are committed to making Döhler’s customers successful.
*Source: https://diginomica.com/dohler-year-their-sap-journey
“'WE BRING IDEAS TO LIFE.'describes Döhler’s integrated and entrepreneurial approach to innovation. This also includes innovation services, market intelligence, advice on food safety and microbiology as well as sensory & consumer science. Döhler also runs its own venture unit with more than 85 active ventures. “Smart ideas have a way of becoming great products.”
Döhler in facts and figures:
*Source: https://www.doehler.com/en/about-doehler/who-we-are.html
“A unique variety of natural raw materials and innovative processing technologies, worldwide market insights and Multi-sensory Design make Döhler a full-service provider for the food and beverage industry with a unique integrated approach.”
Q: What is Döhler’s “Multi-Sensory Design?”
A: “The Döhler MULTI-SENSORY DESIGN® for colours enables us to design the ideal colour solution for our customers of the food & and beverage industry that perfectly matches their product and the product positioning they want to achieve – even for completely new product innovations.”
Döhler’s Market
1) Water Industry (i.e. adding a new vitamin to water)
2) Soft drinks Industry (i.e. adding new ingredients for a new energy drink or brewed lemonade)
3) Fruit Juice Industry (i.e. ingredients for a new juice fruit splash or a smoothie)
4) Breweries (i.e. ingredients for new beer-mix beverages or for a cider)
5) Wine & Spirits Industry (i.e. ingredients for wine mixes or smoothie liquor)
6) Dairy (i.e. ingredients for new drinking yogurts or a vegan dairy alternative)
7) Ice Cream Industry (i.e. an ice cream with a fruity ripple sauce or an exceptional topping for a frozen yogurt)
8) Confectionary Industry (i.e. adding reduced-sugar or promising innovations such as fruit gums with a high fruit and vegetable content and innovative sweetening, or chocolates in exciting taste compositions)
9) Bakeries (i.e. to exploit the opportunities of growing markets abroad or add gluten-free breakfast biscuits to your portfolio)
10) Foodservice (i.e. refined syrups for your coffee products, toppings for frozen yogurt, juice concentrate premixes for smoothies or spicy dips
Company’s Applications & Solutions (Illustration of the Previous List of Its Market Segments)
*Source: https://www.doehler.com/en/applications-solutions.html
Company’s Natural Ingredients
*Source: https://www.doehler.com/en/our-portfolio/natural-ingredients.html
Döhler Ventures
Döhler’s Döhler Ventures, founded in 2014, is a long-term-oriented and entrepreneurial investor empowering early-stage startups in the Nutrition and Technology ecosystem.
It is exclusively dedicated to providing growth capital for businesses in the food & and beverage world.
Effectively, it acts as a long-term, strategic investor and dedicates its industry-specific experience, skills, and network to help the business develop and execute a winning business strategy.
Investment industry criteria:
● Food and Beverage technology
● Plant-based ingredient innovations
● Health, nutrition and lifestyle products
● Digital commerce and online platforms
Further criteria:
● Committed and ambitious teams with complementary skills
● Early-stage startups
● Innovative and scalable business models
Döhler’s Acquisition of Frikos
"FRIKOS specializes in the production of premium frozen and freeze-dried fruits, particularly in red berries, with a focus on organic locally grown products, like organic raspberries and blackberries. Located in the heart of Serbia's raspberry cultivation region, the company has established a strong reputation for premium quality products and innovation especially in developing its own freeze-drying technologies."
Döhler’s Acquisition of Frikos strengthened its product portfolio of freeze-dried fruits. This acquisition marks a significant step in enhancing Döhler’s strategic product portfolio, particularly in the area of organic red berries.
Frikos will have access to all of Döhler’s cutting-edge technologies, and together with Döhler’s application labs, global and local customers can expect prime services and a more extensive product portfolio.
“Customers worldwide, especially in North America and Europe, will now benefit from a broader range of premium quality freeze-dried berries as well as a reliable supply chain. This strategic acquisition further strengthens Döhler’s commitment to meeting the evolving needs of customers and consumers worldwide for excellent, tasty, healthy, and sustainable solutions in the food and beverage industry.”
Döhler’s Past M&A Activity/Joint Ventures
The following information is based on publicly available data.
The list of Döhler’s Past Acquisitions/Collaborations
- Frikos (Serbia) - December 2023
- Boon Flavors (Thailand) - August 2023
- SVZ (Netherlands) - July 2023 - SVZ is a subsidiary of Coöperatie Koninklijke Cosun UA, also known as Royal Cosun (Netherlands), a leading international agricultural cooperative with more than 8,400 sugar beet growers; - Coöperatie Koninklijke Cosun UA, also known as Royal Cosun, is a cooperative organization, a significant player in the agri-food industry, particularly known for its sugar beet processing and production. The cooperative is owned by thousands of Dutch sugar beet growers and operates with a focus on sustainable agriculture and food production; “As a cooperative, Royal Cosun is owned and governed by the farmers who supply it with beets. This structure emphasizes shared values, mutual benefits, and a focus on long-term sustainability over short-term profits.” is worth noting, Netra Agro (Netherlands) is a subsidiary of SVZ, which focuses fully on agribusiness and maximizing the value of a wide range of fruit and vegetable products
- Planet Based Foods Global Inc. (USA) entered into a non-exclusive development agreement ("Development Agreement") with renowned global producer, DoehlerGroup ("Doehler") also known as “Döhler” - April 2023 - Planet Based Foods Global Inc. is listed on multiple stock exchanges. Specifically, it is traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the ticker symbol PBF, and it's also cross-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE) under the symbol AZ0. Additionally, the company's stock is available on the OTC markets in the United States under the ticker PBFFF
- SPC (Australia) - June 2020, announced a joint venture partnership with Döhler, a German producer, marketer, and provider of technology-driven natural ingredients, ingredient systems, and integrated solutions for the food and beverage industry. The partnership with Döhler will support SPC’s global expansion plans and enable Döhler to expand its operation in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
- ZUCASA (Spain) - April 2019
- Nutrafood (Italy) - October 2018
- Concentra Europe BV, Dutch and German subsidiaries of Passina Group (Switzerland) - October 2018
- Teawolf (USA) - July 2016
- MOLDA (Germany) - January 2016
- Aromes Group (Poland) - September 2013
- Delta Aromatic (Egypt) - February 2013
Concluding Thoughts
Effectively, Döhler has made 12 strategic acquisitions in the past 10 years.
There is no reason to assume that this M&A trend will come to a halt in the near future.
On the contrary, deriving from its aggressive past acquisition history on five different continents (Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, and Africa), one can conclude to a testament that different geographical localities present no issue for Döhler and probably its investment ambitions for the future.
In the following weeks, a series of articles will be published, covering Döhler's aforementioned 12 strategic acquisitions.