As part of its quest to pursue customisable food, the Mars concern has bought Foodspring: the German manufacturer of sports food has been acquired by Mars Edge, a division of Mars looking to innovate in the field of healthy and personalised food products.
Protein bars in 12 countries
Mars, producer of M&M and Uncle Ben’s, has acquired German startup Foodspring. The manufacturer offers protein shakes, bars and supplements through direct distribution to the consumer in 12 European countries. The founders are two former managers of Rocket Internet. According to them, Foodspring is one of the biggest and fastest-growing specialty food companies in Europe.
It hasn’t been revealed how much Mars was willing to pay for the company, but the acquirer will be buying out all other investors and shareholders except for the two founders Tobias Schüle and Philipp Schrempp. The duo will continue to run the company independently from Berlin. In two earlier financing rounds, Foodspring apparently gathered as much as 34 million dollars.
Towards personalised food
The acquisition will be done through Mars Edge, a division of Mars founded in 2017 in order to develop healthy and – in particular – personalised food. It’s the division’s first investment. “We’re moving from one-size-fits-all food to what’s right for me,” explains Mars Edge president Jean-Christophe Flatin in a press release.
“We’re building a global, targeted nutrition business that will allow us to pioneer the personalized nutrition territory. We are quite confident we have found the right partners,” Flatin continues. “When we founded Mars Edge, our goal was to connect the food you want to the nutrients you need. For the past six years, Foodspring was first in line to achieve just that.”
