The food group Nestlé takes over the majority of the Hamburg spice trader Ankerkraut.
Ankerkraut announced on Wednesday that he had taken over the shares of the previous investors – EMZ Partners, Freigeist Capital and Knälmann Ventures – as well as parts of the management shares, making him the majority owner of Ankerkraut GmbH.
The company did not give any figures.
According to the information, Ankerkraut will continue to be run as an independent company with its own brand, the founders Anne and Stefan Lemcke will remain on board as shareholders and brand ambassadors.
The same applies to the managing directors Timo Haas and Alexander Schwoch, who continue to run the company as shareholders.
While Ankerkraut says it's "proud" to have Nestlé by its side, the takeover caused discontent on social media.
The hashtag "Ankerkraut" landed in the short message service Twitter in a very short time in the trends.
Ankerkraut emphasized in a tweet: "We remain independent: as a company and brand".
But that was apparently not enough for many users.
Nestlé has been criticized for years due to its market power and a series of scandals.
Some influencers who have previously worked with Ankerkraut as advertising partners have therefore now distanced themselves from the company and announced that they will end their cooperation.
Ankerkraut GmbH from the south of Hamburg was founded in 2013 by Anne and Stefan Lemcke as a start-up.
The company now employs more than 230 people and achieves sales in the mid double-digit million range.
Ankerkraut is best known for appearing on the TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen" in 2016. According to its own statements, Ankerkraut now sells more than 500 spices and spice mixtures, sauces, teas and accessories.