What BACK-FACTORY does

BACK-FACTORY is a German quick-service snack restaurant chain operating under the brand identity "Der Snack-Profi" (The Snack Professional). Founded in 2002 in Bielefeld as a self-service bakery, the company underwent a strategic transformation beginning in 2009 to pivot from traditional bakery products to a broader snack-focused concept. Today it offers more than 100 snack varieties spanning filled sandwiches (BELEGTE BRÖTCHEN), hot snacks (HEISSE SNACKS), sweet pastries (SÜSSES GEBÄCK), traditional bakery items (BACKWAREN), beverages (GETRÄNKE), coffee specialties, and a dedicated vegan sub-brand. All products are prepared fresh daily on-site. The chain operates approximately 80 stores across Germany, primarily situated in high-foot-traffic urban locations including city centers, railway stations, and public transportation hubs, serving more than 40 million guests annually. Over 96% of revenue derives from snacks, coffee, and beverages, with only a small residual share from traditional bakery products.

The business is organized as a franchise-led model, with the majority of the 80 stores operated by franchise partners under a centralized system headquarters that provides brand positioning, operational guidance, supply chain support, and an advisory board structure for partner development. Franchise capital investment requirements range from EUR 50,000 to over EUR 200,000 depending on store format. The customer base is exclusively B2C, targeting German commuters, office workers, and urban visitors seeking quick, fresh, and convenient food options. No proprietary technology platform or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed; the technology footprint consists of a mobile application with store finder and nutritional information, a website with PLZ/Ort-based store locator integrated with Google Maps, and standard social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Revenue is generated through retail point-of-sale transactions at the store level, with no public pricing disclosed.

Since November 2021, BACK-FACTORY has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Swiss Valora Group, operating through the legal entity Valora Food Service Deutschland GmbH, headquartered at Lindenallee 39, 45127 Essen, Germany. Prior to this acquisition, the company was owned by Harry-Brot GmbH, a tenth-generation German family bakery business. Management is led by Managing Director (Geschäftsführer) Philipp Angehrn. The company employs approximately 1,100 staff across company-owned and franchise locations, has received industry recognition including a Gold F&C Award for franchise quality, and ranks in the Top 15 quick-service restaurant brands in Germany. Strategic initiatives include the UpperGreen gastro concept launched in 2021, an industrial design store renovation concept rolled out in 2020, and a dedicated vegan product sub-brand targeting the plant-based consumer segment.

Name

BACK-FACTORY

Legal name

Valora Food Service Deutschland GmbH

Website

https://back-factory.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

BACK-FACTORY is a German quick-service snack restaurant chain operating approximately 80 franchise-led stores nationwide under the "Der Snack-Profi" brand, serving 40+ million guests annually with freshly prepared snacks, coffee, and beverages. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swiss Valora Group since November 2021.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quick-Service Snack Restaurants

NAICS

Convenience Retailers and Vending Machine Operators (44513), All Other Specialty Food Retailers (445298)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Refrigerated Ready-to-Eat Foods (Deli Salads, Sandwiches, Meal Kits) (CRADACAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Frozen & Refrigerated Snack Foods (Ice Cream Novelties, Snack Bites) (CRADABAL)

Keywords

• Quick-service snacks
• Franchise restaurants
• Snack retail chain
• Coffee specialties
• Grab-and-go food

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Snack, Coffee and Beverage Sales: BACK-FACTORY generates revenue through direct retail sales of freshly prepared snacks, coffee specialties, and beverages at its 80 German store locations. Over 96% of revenue comes from snacks, coffee and drinks, with only a small portion from traditional bakery products. The company operates on a retail point-of-sale model with no public pricing disclosed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

BACK-FACTORY operates a quick-service snack chain of approximately 80 stores across Germany, selling over 100 freshly prepared snack varieties that fall into five core categories: filled sandwiches, hot snacks, sweet pastries, beverages, and bakery products, complemented by coffee specialties and a vegan sub-line. The business runs primarily through a franchise model under the brand 'Der Snack-Profi', with franchisees receiving system support for store operations, brand positioning, and development. Over 96% of revenue comes from snack, coffee, and beverage sales made directly to consumers at the point of sale.

Product overview

BACK-FACTORY operates as a quick-service snack restaurant chain ('Der Snack-Profi') with a unified product platform offering over 100 different snacks across five core product categories: BELEGTE BRÖTCHEN (filled sandwiches), HEISSE SNACKS (hot snacks), SÜSSES GEBÄCK (sweet pastries), BACKWAREN (bakery products), and GETRÄNKE (beverages). The company also offers Kaffeespezialitäten (coffee specialities) as an add-on module and maintains a dedicated VEGAN sub-brand for plant-based options. All products are prepared fresh daily on-site in the company's approximately 80 stores throughout Germany. The business operates both company-owned stores and franchise partner locations, with the franchise partnership program as a key growth vehicle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Belegte Brötchen (Filled Sandwiches) A variety of fresh filled sandwiches and rolls prepared daily in BACK-FACTORY stores, including options such as Pane Avocado-Hummus, Baguettino variants, and Mehrkornbrötchen with various fillings, sold to individual consumers for grab-and-go consumption.
• Heisse Snacks (Hot Snacks) Hot prepared snack items including hot sandwiches, Börekstange, pizza varieties, hot dogs, and Geflügelrollen, freshly prepared on-site and sold to individual consumers.
• Süsses Gebäck (Sweet Pastries) Sweet bakery items including muffins, donuts, croissants, cookies, pastries with fruit fillings, and chocolate-based treats, baked fresh daily and sold to consumers.
• Getränke (Beverages) Cold and hot beverages including soft drinks (Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Mezzo Mix), energy drinks, bottled water, juices, and teas, sold to consumers at the point of sale.
• Backwaren (Bakery Products) Traditional baked goods including various types of bread rolls, pretzels (Laugenbrezel, Saatenbrezel), and plain bakery items sold separately to consumers.
• Kaffeespezialitäten (Coffee Specialties) Hot coffee drinks including Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, Milchkaffee, Mocca Schoko, and black coffee, available in three different sizes and sold to consumers at the point of sale.
• Vegan Plant-Based Product Line Plant-based snack offerings including vegan Vanillestange (vanilla cream puff), Plant Based Crunchy Chicken, Laugenhörnchen Veggie, and vegan fillings, sold to consumers seeking vegetarian or vegan options.
• Franchise Partnership Program Franchise business offering under the BACK-FACTORY brand for entrepreneurs and investors, including proven concept, brand affiliation, and system support from the central headquarters for store operations and development.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40+ million annual guests served
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Valora Group (Valora Holding Germany GmbH / Valora Food Service Deutschland GmbH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021BACK-FACTORY was acquired by the Swiss Valora Group in November 2021. Valora is a leading European food service and retail concepts operator with successful similar brands in Germany. The acquisition enabled long-term development and future growth for BACK-FACTORY as part of Valora's expanded German market portfolio.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• McDonald's: Germany's largest QSR operator with broad grab-and-go menu and dominant urban/transit real estate. Indirect competitor for the same commuter and snack-purchase occasions.
• Subway: Global QSR sandwich chain with a meaningful German footprint. Competes for the same grab-and-go sandwich/snack occasion at urban and transit-adjacent locations.
• Starbucks: Global coffee QSR incumbent in Germany with strong urban high-street and transit-hub presence. Overlaps with BACK-FACTORY on the coffee-and-snack consumption occasion.

Direct peers

• Le Crobag: German bakery/snack chain specializing in freshly baked goods and snacks at high-traffic locations, particularly train stations. Direct competitor in the German on-the-go snack segment.
• Kamps: Long-established German self-service bakery chain with broad retail footprint. Direct competitor in German bakery/snack retail with overlapping product categories.
• Ditsch / Brezelkönig: Pretzel and snack specialist operating in German transit hubs; another Valora-owned concept. Directly comparable in transit-located snack retail and overlapping brand portfolio.
• BackWerk: German self-service bakery and snack chain and sister brand under Valora Group, sharing franchise operations and consumer overlap with BACK-FACTORY. Directly comparable in category, model, and geography.

Regional players

• Einstein Kaffee: Austrian-origin coffee and snack café chain with German locations. Comparable in urban coffee/snack positioning but primarily competes in café rather than kiosk/snack format.

Emerging players

• Yorma's: German self-service snack and bakery concept operated by Harry-Brot (BACK-FACTORY's previous owner). Partial overlap in self-service snack retail within the same German footprint.
• Pret a Manger: International fresh-prepared sandwich/coffee chain expanding in select European markets. Comparable in fresh-prep snack and coffee positioning, although German footprint remains limited.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Backfactory
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSPuh_0qmcJFZ4IA0p6XcAQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/backfactory
• Instagraminstagram.com/backfactory_de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BACK-FACTORY