BENEO buys shares in German start up to get close to the consumer

BENEO buys shares in German start up to get close to the consumer

Needs for plant based meat solutions

BENEO, one of the leading manufacturers of functional ingredients, has today announced it is taking a 14% stake in German business, Grillido, to get to know consumer preferences for plant-based meat solutions even better. Investing in Grillido, a start-up for hybrid, vegetarian and vegan products, marks the next step in BENEO´s plant-based protein strategy.

With the market for fish and meat alternatives forecast to rise by 10% CAGR over the next five years (i), this latest investment will give BENEO direct access to consumer needs, allowing it to continuously improve its plant-based protein solutions for meat alternatives.

Located in Munich, Germany, Grillido is a company focused on the development, production, marketing and distribution of meat replacement and meat alternative products, as well as other products linked to BBQ foods. Its e-commerce platform enables Grillido to receive consumer insights from multi-channel sales. BENEO will therefore have faster and direct access to consumer feedback to gain valuable information about their plant based preferences and needs. By tapping into Grillido´s consumer understanding and culinary knowledge, BENEO will be able to move more quickly with the development of its existing product solutions for the plant-based market, as well as new products and innovations.

Dominic Speleers, Member of the Executive Board at BENEO comments: “Moving closer to the consumer and having faster and direct feedback from the market on our solutions and products is a crucial advantage for BENEO as a B2B company. This way, we can further improve our solutions for the plant-based meat alternative market and make an important step forward in our plant based protein roadmap.”
Grillido has around 30 employees. Next to e-commerce, its multi-channel sales approach also covers retail and foodservice sales.


i Euromonitor 2022