Orkla Health has agreed to acquire NutraQ, a subscription-based health and beauty products company operating in the Nordic region, from owners Impilo and Sana Pharma Holding.
The companies have agreed on a purchase price that values NutraQ at NOK3.1 billion (€300 million).
NutraQ is the parent of health and beauty concepts VitaePro and Oslo Skin Lab.
It also owns men’s health brands Maxulin and Provexin, as well as the Vesterålens Naturprodukter brand that offers omega-3 and vitamin supplements.
'New Competence'
According to Orkla president and CEO, Jaan Ivar Semlitsch, the acquisition will bring “new competence” to Orkla Health with more sales channels and a larger international market.
Semlitsch added, “With the acquisition of NutraQ, Orkla is taking a new, important step into a growing health and wellness market.
“I am impressed by how NutraQ has adopted subscription solutions to reach consumers directly in their own homes. NutraQ’s concepts and brands will offer Orkla exciting growth opportunities.”
Currently, the company has approximately 410,000 active subscriptions. Its organic subscriptions grew by an average of 13% annually between 2018-2020.
'Further Growth And Expansion'
Hege Holter Brekke, EVP and CEO of the Orkla Care business area said, "NutraQ has built up a business model and an organisation that is well-positioned for further growth and expansion.
"We think that, as a part of Orkla Health, NutraQ will be able to launch a number of exciting concepts and contribute to profitable growth in the coming years."
NutraQ will be integrated as a stand-alone entity in Orkla Health to preserve its individuality and competence in direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales, Orkla added.
The agreement is subject to the approval from relevant competition authorities.
Established in Norway in 2002, NutraQ operates in Denmark, Finland and Sweden and employs around 150 people. These four countries account for around 90% of its turnover.
In 2020, the company generated a turnover of NOK862 million (€84.5 million), and EBITDA amounted to NOK188 million (€18.4 million).
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
