What SternMaid does

SternMaid is a German contract manufacturer specialising in powder and granulate products for the food, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical excipients industries. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Wittenburg (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany), the company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the family-owned Stern-Wywiol Gruppe — an owner-operated group with approximately 1,650 employees worldwide and twelve specialist ingredient sister companies. From its principal 60,000 m² Wittenburg campus, supplemented by facilities in Aurora/Chicago (USA, opened 2013) and Malaysia (container premix plant, opened 2017), SternMaid is the largest production site in the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, employing 350+ people as of 2019 with stated group headcount now in the 251–500 band. The company mixes, processes, and packages exclusively to customer-specified formulations on a co-manufacturing basis.

The firm's core technical capabilities centre on a multifunctional fluidised bed plant enabling agglomeration, spray granulation, microencapsulation, and instantisation across process temperatures of 30–130°C, supplemented by fifteen dedicated blending lines with dosing precision up to 1:100,000, a validated EU-GMP Guideline Part II / ICH Q7 container blending system, and a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for digitalised production control and traceability. Quality and compliance infrastructure spans FSSC 22000, HACCP, ISO 50001, organic (DE-ÖKO-001), kosher, halal, and approval under §11 diet regulation for balanced diets. Aggregate production capacity reaches approximately 50,000 tonnes/year with 25,000 pallet storage bays and 100M+ sachets/year filling capacity after the 2020 third Triplex sachet line was installed.

SternMaid runs a pure-play B2B contract manufacturing business model under a managed-services revenue structure (Lohnhersteller / co-manufacturer). Customer acquisition is driven by direct enterprise field sales, supplemented by trade show presence (FiE 2023, Vitafoods 2027) and a multi-channel digital footprint (corporate site, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube). Pricing is quote-based and tailored to formulation complexity, batch size, packaging, and service scope, with publicly disclosed minimums of 10,000 kg per industrial run and 10,000 cans or 1,000,000 sachets per consumer run. The revenue stack spans blending, fluidised bed processing, industrial filling (cartons, sacks, drums, big bags), consumer packaging (5 g–25 g sachets, 100 g–3,000 g cans), plus value-added services including raw material procurement (~1,000 materials), warehousing, and worldwide logistics. Customers are industrial brand owners and manufacturers in food, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical excipients; no distributor, reseller, or retail channel is used.

Name

SternMaid

Legal name

SternMaid GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://sternmaid.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

SternMaid is a German contract manufacturer of custom powder and granulate products for the food, nutritional supplement, and pharmaceutical excipient industries. Founded 1996 in Wittenburg, it operates 15 blending lines and multifunctional fluidised bed technology to serve industrial B2B customers across Germany, the USA, and Malaysia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Powder and Granulate Manufacturing

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Powdered & Dry Beverage Mix Co-Packing (Instant Drinks, Sachets) (AFAFAIAH)

Keywords

• Contract powder manufacturing
• Dietary supplement manufacturing
• Pharmaceutical excipient production
• Fluidised bed processing
• Granulation and blending services

Headquarters

HQ city

Wittenburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Manufacturing Services: SternMaid operates as a pure-play contract manufacturer (Lohnhersteller/Co-manufacturer) producing powder and granulate products exclusively for customer-specified formulations. Revenue is generated through service fees for manufacturing, filling, and related value-added services. Services span from raw material procurement through blending, fluidised bed processing, filling, warehousing, and logistics — providing a full spectrum of outsourced manufacturing services for the food, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical excipients industries.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SternMaid is a B2B contract manufacturer (Lohnhersteller/Co-manufacturer) producing powder and granulate products exclusively to customer-specified formulations. The company blends, processes (agglomeration, spray granulation, microencapsulation, instantisation via multifunctional fluidised bed technology), fills, warehouses, and delivers finished products for the food, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical excipients industries. As part of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, SternMaid offers full-spectrum contract manufacturing from raw material procurement through development, production, packaging, and worldwide logistics.

Product overview

SternMaid is a contract manufacturing service provider for powder and granulate products, operating as part of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of manufacturing services organized around three core pillars: Blending Services (15 blending lines for custom powder formulations from 5,000 kg runs), Fluidised Bed Processing (multifunctional technology for agglomeration, spray granulation, and microencapsulation), and Filling Services (both industrial packaging in big bags/sacks/drums and consumer packaging in cans/sachets). Additional services include R&D and procurement support through the group network, and warehousing with 25,000 pallet bays. The company serves the food, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical excipients industries from its main facility in Wittenburg, Germany, with foreign locations in USA, China, Malaysia, Mexico, and Turkey.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Honeymaid: Company honey produced from two beehives on the company grounds, yielding approximately 40 kilograms of honey annually, packaged in 125g jars for the SternMaid team.

Products and services

• Blending Services Contract blending of custom powder and granulate blends using 15 dedicated blending lines, supporting production runs from 5,000 kg, high-precision dosing up to a 1:100,000 ratio, and optional homogeneous application of liquid components via special nozzles. Targets industrial customers in food, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical excipients.
• Fluidised Bed Processing Multifunctional fluidised bed technology for product enhancement including agglomeration, spray granulation, microencapsulation, and instantisation, with batch sizes of 250–500 kg and process temperatures from 30–130°C for thermo-sensitive ingredients. Supports continuous and batch operation for food, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical excipient customers.
• Consumer Packaging (Co-Packing) Filling and packaging of nutritional supplements and food powders into shelf-ready consumer packaging including cardboard cans (100g–1,000g), sachets (5g–25g), and plastic cans (100g–3,000g), with minimum orders of 10,000 cans or 1,000,000 sachets per production run. Targets brands seeking finished retail-ready products.
• Industrial Packaging Filling and repacking of powder and granulate products into industrial containers including cartons, sacks, drums, and big bags, with minimum orders of 10,000 kg per production run. Supports customers requiring further processing, bulk delivery, or industrial-scale shipping.
• R&D and Procurement Services Product development support via the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe network (including sister company SternLife for formulation development), raw material procurement from a portfolio of approximately 1,000 raw materials, and packaging sourcing services for customers across food, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical excipients.
• Warehousing and Logistics Storage services with 25,000 pallet bays in a barcode-managed high-bay warehouse, climate-controlled rooms for sensitive products, separation by areas for packaging materials, raw materials, and finished products, and direct logistics delivery to customers within Germany and worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced segregation and improved homogeneity through agglomeration — components bond into blackberry-like structures preventing post-production separation.
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Stern-Wywiol Gruppe (Parent Group)coreOthersSternMaid is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, an owner-operated, independent family company with 1,650 employees worldwide and 12 specialist ingredient companies. The group provides SternMaid with access to a Know-how Connection spanning applications research at the Stern-Technology Center in Ahrensburg, shared R&D capabilities, and a network of 18 foreign offices. Sister companies include Mühlenchemie, Deutsche Back, Sternenzym, Sternvitamin, Planteneers, OlbrichtArom, Sternchemie, SternLife, Herza, Berg+Schmidt, and Hydrosol.
• SternLifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSternLife, a sister company within the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, is a partner for the development of individual solutions and products for functional foods and nutritional supplements. SternMaid refers customers to SternLife for final formulation development, from recipe creation to raw material selection to the finished product, as part of the group's Know-how Connection.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Rottendorf Pharma: German-based contract developer and manufacturer of solid oral dosage forms (tablets, capsules, powders) for pharma and health products. Direct peer on European GMP-certified powder/granulate contract manufacturing.
• Aenova Group: European contract manufacturer specializing in solid dosage forms (powders, granules, tablets, capsules) for pharma and nutraceuticals. Closely comparable to SternMaid on B2B contract manufacturing for food supplements and pharmaceutical excipients.
• Glanbia Nutritionals: Provider of nutritional premixes, customized ingredient blends and protein powders serving sports nutrition and functional food brands. Direct peer to SternMaid's premix and blending services for the nutritional supplements industry.
• DFE Pharma: Specialist manufacturer of pharmaceutical excipients (lactose, starch, micronized powders) serving solid oral dose manufacturers. Closely comparable to SternMaid's pharmaceutical excipient segment and powder processing capabilities.
• Balchem Corporation: Specialty ingredient manufacturer serving human nutrition, pharma and food markets with encapsulation and agglomeration technology. Comparable to SternMaid's microencapsulation and fluidised bed processing services.

Broad incumbents

• Lonza Group: Global CDMO with large-scale contract manufacturing for pharma, nutrition and consumer health ingredients including powders, granules and oral dosage forms. Comparable to SternMaid's contract manufacturing and fluidised bed capabilities but at vastly greater scale and across biologics.
• Catalent: Major global CDMO offering softgel, oral solid dose, and complex formulation services for pharma and consumer health. Overlaps with SternMaid in powder blending and encapsulation for supplements and pharma excipients, though Catalent is far broader.
• Fareva: French-headquartered global contract manufacturer across pharma, cosmetics and food ingredients including powders and supplements. Overlaps with SternMaid in powder blending, filling and packaging for supplements and food.

Regional players

• Ingredion: Major ingredient solutions provider producing specialty starches, sweeteners and nutritional powders for food and beverage customers. Comparable as a powder ingredient supplier/co-manufacturer for food applications served by SternMaid.

Others

• Mühlenchemie (Stern-Wywiol sister company): Sister company within the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe specializing in flour treatment and enzyme systems for the milling industry. Adjacent ecosystem player sharing R&D infrastructure with SternMaid via the parent group's Know-how Connection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sternmaid_
• Facebookfacebook.com/sternmaid

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 SternMaid