BayWa subsidiary Cefetra Group acquires nuts and dried fruits company Heinrich Brüning GmbH

Company expands activities in the field of tree nuts and dried fruits

Munich/Hamburg, 19 May 2022 – BayWa’s Cefetra Group business unit is acquiring a majority stake in Heinrich Brüning GmbH. The Hamburg-based company is one of the largest suppliers and co-packers of dried fruits and nut kernels in Germany and has also successfully established itself in the organic segment with Suntree GmbH, which was founded in 2007. Customers include the processing food industry, as well as discount supermarkets and food retailers. For these, Heinrich Brüning packs dried fruit and nut kernel mixes under its own label and customers’ own brands at its Hamburg site. The entry into Heinrich Brüning marks another important step for Cefetra Group to strengthen its market position as an important supplier for food ingredients. For its part, Heinrich Brüning GmbH benefits from a potent partner with whom it can generate further growth in its core business.

“Speciality ingredients have become a permanent fixture in our international agricultural business,” says Klaus Josef Lutz, Chief Executive Officer of BayWa AG. “In recent years, we have gradually added attractive acquisitions in the specialities sector to our portfolio at Cefetra Group and diversified it more and more. Heinrich Brüning is a company with tradition, a strong presence in Europe and promising products. In that way, Heinrich Brüning is an excellent fit for us to jointly advance our strategic goals.”

“The food ingredients market is an important pillar of our growth strategy,” says Daan Vriens, CEO of the Cefetra Group. Heinrich Brüning plays a significant role in this market and complements the product portfolio and customer base of the Cefetra Group very well. Daan Vriens: “We were particularly impressed with the expertise and decades of experience of the owner family and their workforce. We share the same corporate values and culture with Heinrich Brüning. We are very much looking forward to further developing the exciting growth area in the nuts and dried fruit sector in partnership.”

From a consumer perspective, nuts and dried fruits are becoming increasingly attractive as a vitamin-rich component of a balanced diet. As a plant-based source of protein, nuts are also becoming increasingly interesting as an ingredient for the production of vegetarian and vegan foods. “After almost 70 years of successful operation as a family-owned company, we have decided to aim for a partnership in order to better exploit the growth opportunities in this business,” says Frank Rump, Managing Director of Heinrich Brüning GmbH. The current management and owners will remain as Managing Directors and shareholders. Frank Rump: “We decided for the partnership with Cefetra Group as we found our goals and our company culture fully reflected by Cefetra and also see this as a strong signal towards our customers as well as our employees.”

Heinrich Brüning GmbH was founded in 1954 and currently employs 84 staff members. The dried fruits and nuts imported by Heinrich Brüning via the port of Hamburg can be found as ingredients in a wide range of food products, such as muesli, biscuits, gingerbread as well as snack items and baked goods. Heinrich Brüning also offers packaging of imported dried fruits and nut kernels according to the individual needs of the retail marketers.