Vegan alternatives for milk, meat or cheese have long been established in supermarkets in this country, but so far they have only played a minor role in the German financial market.
That could change soon, because now the first supplier of plant-based foods wants to enter the trading floor in Germany.
The Berlin company Veganz is aiming for an initial listing in the free trade of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, as Veganz announced on Wednesday.
The total volume is expected to be 50 million euros, with the sale of new shares expected to bring in around 35 million.
Among other things, the money will be used to expand its own production facilities.
It has not yet been determined when the IPO will take place.
Stefanie Diemand
Editor in business.
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Veganz founder Jan Bredack is used to being the first: founded in 2011, Veganz was the first company to popularize vegan foods across a wide range of products in Germany.
Started as a vegan supermarket in Berlin, the company now focuses primarily on the around 120 products in its range that it now sells through Edeka, Rewe, but also in the Aldi and Lidl discounters.
Little glamor, but a solid group of buyers
Why is the former start-up now aiming to go public? "We made a clear decision in favor of the stock exchange to finance growth," says Bredack of the FAZ, who currently holds 26.3 percent of the shares in Veganz. “I won't give an exit either,” he says. To make this clear, he agreed to hold his shares for at least three years for a blocking period. Even the step into the discounter around two years ago was a big step for the food company in order to reach more customers. "Now our fans should also have the opportunity to participate in the company with the IPO."
In addition to these followers, Bredack should also have the example of other providers of vegan products in mind. The IPO of Oatly on the New York Stock Exchange caused a sensation this year: The Swedish oat milk manufacturer achieved a market value of 10 billion dollars on the Nasdaq at a price per share of 17 dollars. On the first day of trading, the stock rose nearly 30 percent to $ 22, but is now well below it. Beyond Meat has also ventured on the stock market with meat alternatives. With Veganz, a German company would join, says market analyst Konstantin Oldenburger from trading house CMC. "With less glamor, but with a solid German buyer group."
Bredack also knows that Veganz is not yet an oatly: "We are players in a niche market that is growing rapidly." However, the potential for vegan foods is huge: More and more people paid attention to their diet during the pandemic, says Benjamin Morach , Partner of the management consultancy BCG. "This has also led to a significant acceleration in the field of vegetable proteins." A study by the management consultancy assumes that the market could grow to around 290 billion dollars.
Bredack sees the greatest growth potential for his company in one segment in particular: vegan cheese. “The cheese market is bigger than the sausage market,” he says. And so far the alternatives for conventional cheese are not good enough. For this reason, Veganz wants to use the proceeds from the IPO in Brandenburg to build the largest production facility for cheese alternatives in Europe. Last year the company had already built a production facility for soft cheese alternatives.
How successful providers like Veganz will ultimately be has not yet been determined for market observers, despite all the euphoria.
Corporations such as Nestlé and Unilever have long since discovered the vegan market.
"The strong competition in this segment is likely to persist in the future and make it difficult for smaller companies to maintain the high growth rates they have achieved so far," says market analyst Oldenburger.
"Due to its specialization, Veganz could, however, have an advantage over the large food manufacturers due to its size and the flexibility and innovation that goes with it."