Dental care brands include Theramed, organic toothpaste Vademecum and Licor del Polo, and Antica Erboristeria.
(Photo: IMAGO/Addictive Stock)
Dusseldorf If you eat sweets, you also need toothpaste. In any case, the confectionery specialist Katjes International sees growth opportunities in dental care and has now acquired the Henkel Oral Care business, including all trademark rights. The company from Emmerich am Rhein announced this on Wednesday evening.
Dental care brands include Theramed, organic toothpaste Vademecum and Licor del Polo, and Antica Erboristeria, a herbal oral and hair care product. Theramed is mainly sold in Germany, the other brands in southern European countries.
These brands achieved net sales of over 50 million euros in the past financial year. The takeover will be financed by an acquisition loan and current cash flow. A Henkel spokesman declined to comment on the purchase price on Thursday.
Henkel is currently reorganizing its consumer goods business. The Dax group is merging its ailing cosmetics division with the better-performing detergent and cleaning agent business with well-known brands such as Pril and Persil. At the same time, Henkel is disposing of brands that are not profitable or will no longer be part of the future core business. This year alone, this affects brands with a total turnover of over 180 million euros. Katjes International emphasized that Henkel’s oral care business was profitable.
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The toothpaste is transferred from Henkel to Katjes International.
(Photo: © Year Henkel AG & Co. KGaA)
Theramed and Vademecum are not the first personal care brands to be acquired by Katjes International, sister company of confectionery manufacturer Katjes Fassin. Bübchen was taken over two years ago, according to its own statements the German market leader for baby and child care. At that time, the manufacturer from Soest had a turnover of around 50 million euros and was profitable.
“Following the successful Bübchen acquisition of Nestlé/Galderma in 2020, we are pleased to be able to acquire other strong brands in this area from a large and reliable partner like Henkel,” said Tobias Bachmüller, Managing Partner of Katjes International.
Bübchen cream, treets and sage candies
Katjes International regularly purchases locally well-known consumer goods brands in Europe. In August, the insolvent panettone manufacturer Paluani was swallowed up from Italy. The turnover of the specialist for seasonal baked goods was around 40 million euros in 2021. “We want to keep growing with our profitability in mind – both through acquisitions and organically,” the managing directors once described their strategy.
>> Read here: Katjes founder Klaus Fassin died at the age of 89
For 2022, Katjes International expects sales of between 260 and 280 million euros and a return on sales of eight to nine percent. However, the consolidated operating result in the first half of the year was minus 3.5 million euros, which the company justified, among other things, with the effects of an acquisition.
Katjes International belongs to the Katjes Group together with the legally independent sister companies Katjes Fassin and Katjes Greenfood. Katjes Fassin, founded by Klaus Fassin in 1950, produces the well-known liquorice and fruit gums, which have been vegetarian since 2016. Katjes Greenfood invests in innovative food start-ups.
Katjes International has seven subsidiaries: In Germany, these are chocolate and praline manufacturers Treets Piasten and Dallmann’s Pharma. Bübchen also belongs to the manufacturer of sage candies, which also sells the cough drops Wick. Bübchen, in turn, was responsible for taking over the toothpaste brands from Henkel.
Katjes International also owns the Italian confectionery manufacturers Sperlari and Dulcioliva and Harlekijntjes, the Dutch market leader in liquorice. Katjes International also has shares in the British fruit gum manufacturer Candy Kittens and the French confectionery manufacturer Carambar.
More: How Katjes improves the climate balance with vegetarian fruit gums