Anona

What Anona does

anona GmbH is a privately held, German full-service B2B manufacturer headquartered in Colditz, Saxony, operating continuously since its founding in 1825. The company runs three production sites in the Colditz area with more than 50 production lines and 500–700 employees, and divides its activity into two segments. The first is private-label nutrition manufacturing, in which anona develops and produces powders, liquids, capsules, tablets, bars and baked goods — including protein, sports-nutrition, meal-replacement and functional-food formulations — for well-known customers in the sports, fitness and lifestyle-nutrition industries under their own brands, leveraging access to more than 2,000 raw materials and a 30-person R&D team that delivers over 1,000 new products per year. The second is ice-product manufacturing, covering the Eisfix soft-ice-cream powders and Flüssigmix liquid mixes, the Creanova scoop-ice-cream range, and iced-beverage concentrates, supplied to over 800 ice-cream parlors, cafés and food-service operators in Germany through a regional field-sales force; anona claims market leadership in German soft-ice-cream powder.

Underlying the business is a manufacturing technology base centered on a three-story gravity-fed mixing facility with mixers up to 4,000 liters (capable of processing 2,000 kg with up to 50 components in four minutes), nine mixing lines, three sieving lines, and automated logistics via driverless transport systems and sweeping robots under a central control-software routing layer. A dense certification stack — IFS Food, GMP HACCP, organic/BIO, FDA, China market listing, RSPO, Rainforest Alliance, Halal, Vegan, and ZNU sustainable management — underwrites access to regulated export markets across more than 100 countries. Revenue is generated through B2B manufacturing fees and product sales to private-label brand owners and ice-product channel customers; pricing is not publicly disclosed and the company maintains no direct-to-consumer presence, operating instead through dedicated field-sales territories, an in-house inside-sales team, an export sales manager, and a Werbemittel (advertising-materials) bonus program that supports ice-cream-retailer marketing.

Name

Anona

Legal name

anona GmbH

Website

https://anona.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1825

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Anona GmbH is a German B2B full-service manufacturer founded in 1825 in Colditz, producing private-label nutrition supplements (powders, bars, tablets, capsules, liquids, baked goods) and ice-cream ingredients for brand owners and over 800 ice-cream retailers across more than 100 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Label Food Manufacturing

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311), Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (31193)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024)

akta.pro primary industry

Vitamins & Minerals (Single Nutrients) (CRADAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Frozen Foods Wholesale (Packaged & Private Label) (AFAIAHAA)

Keywords

• Private label manufacturing
• Nutrition supplements
• Soft ice cream powder
• Contract food manufacturing
• Sports nutrition production

Headquarters

HQ city

Colditz

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Private label food manufacturing: Anona develops and manufactures fitness, sports, and lifestyle nutrition products exclusively for private labels. Products include powders, liquids, capsules, tablets, bars, and cookies/baked goods. Revenue is generated through manufacturing fees and product sales to B2B customers who rebrand and resell under their own labels.
2. Ice product manufacturing: Manufactures soft ice cream, scoop ice cream, and iced beverage concentrates for ice cream parlors, cafes, and food service operators. Products sold under customer brands or alongside anona's Penguin brand positioning.
3. Advertising materials and bonus program: Ice product customers can earn bonus points on purchases which are redeemable for promotional materials (beach flags, poster stands, T-shirts, cups, etc.). This serves as a marketing incentive for ice product channel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Anona is a German food manufacturer that develops and produces private label nutritional supplements (powders, liquids, capsules, tablets, bars, and baked goods) and ice cream ingredients (soft ice cream powders, scoop ice cream bases, and iced beverage concentrates) for B2B customers who rebrand and resell under their own labels. The company operates three production sites with 50+ production lines and supports customers from concept development and R&D through manufacturing and packaging.

Product overview

Anona is a German food manufacturing company operating as a full-service private-label producer of fitness, sports, and lifestyle nutrition products plus ice cream ingredients. Its product portfolio comprises two broad segments: (1) Nahrungsmittel (Food Products) — six core delivery forms (Powders, Liquids, Capsules, Tablets, Bars, and Baked Goods/Cookies) under private label for nutritional supplement brands, developed via a Full Service platform covering concept, R&D, production, and packaging across 3 sites and 50 production lines delivering 1,000+ new products per year; and (2) Eisprodukte (Ice Cream Products) — soft ice cream (Eisfix sub-brands), scoop ice cream (Creanova), and iced beverages, together with a Werbemittel (advertising materials) bonus program serving over 800 ice cream customers in Germany. Anona positions itself as Germany's market leader for soft ice cream powder and as a TOP employer with 500–700 employees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Penguin: Soft ice cream brand launched in 1970, Germany\'s well-known soft ice cream brand.
• Eisfix
• Creanova
• Flüssigmix
• Eisfix DUO

Products and services

• Liquids (Private Label Nutritional Liquids) Liquid-format nutritional supplements including aminoliquids, mineral drink concentrates, beauty products, immuno liquids, regeneration liquids, vitamin/mineral drinks, pre- and post-workout boosters, energy drinks, and bi-phase formulations, supplied in bottles, ampoules, shots, canisters, and bag-in-box packaging for private label customers in the sports, fitness, and lifestyle nutrition market.
• Powders (Private Label Nutritional Powders) Powder-format nutritional supplements covering protein drinks (whey, casein, vegan, multicomponent), sport and fitness products (gainers, amino acids, pre/post workout), meal replacements (shakes, soups, muesli, porridge), beverages (mineral drinks, isotonic, fibre), and miscellaneous (baking mixes, superfoods, flavor systems), packaged in tins, pouches, buckets, and folding boxes for private label customers.
• Capsules (Private Label Nutritional Capsules) Capsule-format nutritional supplements available in hard gelatin capsules (beef, pork, fish) and vegan HPMC capsules, including gastroresistant variants in sizes 3, 2, 1, 0, 00E, and 000, with customizable composition, active ingredients, dosage, color, and branding, packaged in plastic containers, composite tins, blister packs, buckets, and pouches.
• Tablets (Private Label Nutritional Tablets) Tablet-format nutritional supplements in various shapes (round, oval, oblong) and sizes (8–25mm), available with or without scoring, in custom colors and coatings, packaged in plastic and composite tins, flat and standing pouches for private label customers.
• Bars (Private Label Nutritional Bars) High-quality single- and multi-layer food bars including protein bars, multilayered/low-carb bars, energy/cereal/fibre bars, oatmeal bars, and diet bars, available in widths of 32mm or 38mm, lengths of 70–140mm, and heights of 8–22mm, optionally coated with milk, white, dark, or compound chocolate, maltitol, or yoghurt glaze.
• Baked Goods (Cookies, Crackers, Biscuits) Fitness baked goods including protein biscuits, protein crackers, fibre-enriched biscuits, cookies (protein, vegan, filled), and savory crackers with protein levels up to 50% using plant-based sources, vegan formulations available, packaged in sealed composite or mono films with branded labels or folding boxes for private label customers.
• Eisfix Soft Ice Cream Ready-mix soft ice cream powders and liquid mixes under the Eisfix sub-brand family (Eisfix ORIGINAL, Eisfix Dänische Art, Eisfix SUPER-SOFT, Eisfix CREMA, Eisfix SOFT-SPEZIAL, Eisfix PREMIUM, Eisfix VEGAN, and Flüssigmix) supplied to ice cream parlors, cafés, restaurants and food service operators, including the Penguin brand positioning.
• Creanova Scoop Ice Cream Scoop ice cream powders under the Creanova sub-brand, including Creanova SPRINT (10+ flavors), Creanova BASEN (Fruit Base CFB 50, Milk Base CMB 50/CPB 100/CMB 100), and Creanova VEGAN, suitable for all ice cream machines; CREMA bases enable near-instant serving, supplied as powder in single bags to ice cream parlors and food service operators.
• Iced Beverages (Eisgetränke) Iced beverage concentrates for dispenser use, available in Wildberry, Amarena Cherry, Lemon, and Apple-Waldmeister (Woodruff) flavors, prepared by mixing concentrate with drinking water to produce fruity sparkling refreshments for ice cream parlors and food service operators.
• Full Service (Private Label Development and Manufacturing) Comprehensive private-label development, production, and packaging service spanning product concept, custom formula development, flexible manufacturing across all delivery forms, attractive packaging design, and quality assurance, backed by over 30 R&D employees, 50 production lines, and 3 production sites delivering over 1,000 new products per year to customers in sports, fitness and food industries.
• Eisfix DUO (2026 Novelty Scoop Ice Cream Line) New sub-line within the Creanova scoop ice cream range introduced for 2026, featuring premium flavor profiles (Cinnamon/Zimt, Pistachio/Pistazie, Golden Milk/Goldene Milch) targeting the gourmet ice cream segment using Creanova KOMPLETTBASEN for near-instant preparation.
• Advertising Materials (Werbemittel) Promotional and point-of-sale materials for ice cream retailers, including paper cups, poster stands, T-shirts, decorative banners, cash plates, flavor display signs, ice cream cone holders, ice cream flags, beach flags, deckchairs, sun umbrellas, and blackboard films, available via the bonus points program or direct purchase (e.g., beach flag complete package 180 EUR, frame 80 EUR, fabric 100 EUR; blackboard film A1 95 EUR).

Quantifiable outcome

• Production waste reduced from 504 tonnes (2024) to 461 tonnes (2025) despite increased production
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Paul BarthminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Triathlete Paul Barth sponsored by anona for Ironman competitions. In return, Paul provides corporate health management support including running group leadership ('anona Running Penguins'), nutrition counseling for employees, and training plans. Mutual benefit: financial support for athlete in exchange for health management services and brand visibility through sports achievements.
• ALBA (Müllsortieranlage Leipzig)minorOthers · 1 January 2024Waste sorting partner company. Anona sustainability team visited ALBA facility in Leipzig to learn about proper waste separation and recycling processes. Not a formal commercial partnership but a sustainability learning engagement.
• KSW Icefighters LeipzigminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Ice hockey team sponsorship in the anona Icedome. Supports local elite sports while building brand awareness at ice sports events.
• HFC Colditz Football ClubminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Long-term football club sponsorship including stadium funding, football kit provision, and team bus. Local community support as largest Colditz employer.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Döhler: German-headquartered B2B provider of natural ingredients, ingredient systems and turnkey product development for beverages, dairy, ice cream, bakery and nutrition. Closely comparable to Anona on full-service B2B contract manufacturing across nutrition and ice cream categories, with similar customer structure (private label and brand customers) and German Mittelstand heritage.
• Stern-Wywiol Gruppe: Hamburg-based B2B group of food/feed ingredient and functional food companies (including SternEnzym, Mühlenchemie, BENEO). Directly comparable to Anona as a privately-held German B2B food technology group operating turnkey ingredient and formulation solutions for industrial food and nutrition customers globally.
• Froneri (formerly R&R Ice Cream): World's largest private-label ice cream manufacturer and Nestlé joint venture, operating across 30+ countries. Direct peer to Anona on the ice cream products side—same B2B private-label model selling soft serve, scoop ice cream and ingredient bases to foodservice and retail customers, but at far greater global scale.
• BioGran Holdings: German private-label manufacturer of food supplements, sports nutrition, dietetic and functional foods in powder, capsule and tablet forms. Most directly comparable peer to Anona's nutrition supplements division—same B2B private-label model serving supplement and sports nutrition brands in the DACH region.
• Fareva: French-headquartered global contract manufacturer producing cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food and home care for brand owners. Comparable to Anona as a family-owned European B2B full-service manufacturing platform serving customer brands across multiple delivery formats and regulatory regimes.

Broad incumbents

• Dr. Oetker: Large German family-owned food group with brands across frozen pizza, desserts, baking and ice cream (including Pizza, Ristorante, Mövenpick Eis). Comparable as a major German food manufacturer with extensive ice cream/frozen desserts presence, but operates as a brand owner rather than purely private-label manufacturer like Anona.
• Kerry Group: Irish-headquartered global B2B food ingredients and taste/flavour solutions provider serving food, beverage and nutrition manufacturers. Overlaps with Anona on the nutrition/functional food ingredient side and B2B customer model, but operates as a public multinational with a much broader taste-and-nutrition portfolio.
• Lonza Consumer Health & Nutrition: Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) producing capsules, tablets and other dose formats for nutrition, health and pharma brands. Overlaps with Anona on private-label contract manufacturing for nutrition supplements (capsules and tablets especially), but at much larger scale with an FDA-registered pharma-grade focus.
• Associated British Foods (ABF Ingredients / AB World Foods): UK-listed diversified food group operating across grocery (Kingsmill, Twinings), ingredients (ABF Ingredients) and retail. Comparable through its ingredients and private-label manufacturing subsidiaries that supply nutrition, bakery and specialty food B2B customers—broader portfolio and public company scale than Anona.
• Cargill: US-headquartered global agricultural commodity processor and food ingredient supplier serving food manufacturers and supplement brands with proteins, starches, oils, sweeteners and cocoa. Overlaps with Anona on raw material sourcing for nutrition products and on the private-label supply model, but at vastly larger and broader commodity scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCzbK2-_cb97UEHc5yloe6Fw
• Facebookfacebook.com/anona.GmbH
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/anona-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/anonagmbh

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Anona