CDR

What CDR does

CDR S.r.l. is an Italian privately-held instrumentation manufacturer founded in the early 1990s and headquartered in Ginestra Fiorentina (Florence). The company designs, produces, and distributes photometric analysis systems used primarily in the food and beverage industry, with adjacent exposure to hemostasis and medical testing. Its proprietary LED-based photometric platforms, factory pre-calibrated and requiring no maintenance, are paired with proprietary pre-filled ready-to-use reagent kits. The product portfolio is built around a flagship CDR FOODLAB® brand and a family of vertical-specific analyzers — CDR WineLab®, CDR BeerLab®, CDR CiderLab, CDR KombuchaLab, CDR CoffeeLab®, CDR DrinkLab®, CDR OxiTester, and CDR PalmOilTester — each available in Top, Junior, and Portable form factors to address different throughput and field-use requirements.

The company's revenue model combines upfront hardware sales (analyzers) with a recurring consumable stream tied to its proprietary reagent kits, supplemented by after-sale support services. Pricing is quote-based rather than list-published, consistent with B2B industrial instrument sales. CDR sells through a global distribution network spanning approximately eight regions, with named channel partners including Gusmer Enterprises (USA), Benelux Scientific (Benelux, from February 2024), DKSH (Thailand, from May 2022), HLR (Russia, from January 2021), and Australasian (from July 2021). End customers span craft breweries, wineries, distilleries, pet food manufacturers, and olive oil producers across both mid-market and enterprise segments, with named accounts including Oakham Ales, Prost Brewing, Whiskey House of Kentucky, BAD Co., Cloudwater, United Petfood, Callaway Vineyard, Chapin Family Vineyards, and Croft Ltd. Capital structure indicates a closely-held, founder-owned private company with no disclosed external funding events.

Name

CDR

Legal name

CDR S.r.l.

Website

https://cdrfoodlab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CDR S.r.l. is an Italian instrumentation manufacturer that designs photometric analysis systems and proprietary ready-to-use reagent kits for the food, beverage, hemostasis, and medical testing markets, selling through a global distributor network to breweries, wineries, distilleries, pet food makers, and olive oil producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Florence

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Analysis system hardware sales: Sale of photometric analyzers (CDR FoodLab, CDR WineLab, CDR BeerLab, CDR OxiTester, CDR PalmOilTester, CDR CiderLab, CDR KombuchaLab, CDR CoffeeLab, CDR DrinkLab) with varying configurations (Top/Junior/Portable models) for laboratory and production line use
2. Reagent kit consumables: Recurring revenue from pre-filled reagent vials and control solutions that are consumed with each analysis
3. After-sale support services: Technical support services including support platform ticket system for assistance

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CDR designs, manufactures, and sells a line of photometric chemical analysis systems (the CDR FoodLab family) for rapid quality and process control of foods, beverages, oils, animal feeds, and clinical/hemostasis samples. Each system pairs an LED-photometric analyzer with pre-filled, pre-calibrated reagent kits so users without specialized laboratory training can obtain results in minutes, either on the production line or in the lab, with recurring revenue from consumable reagent vials and control solutions.

Product overview

CDR is a manufacturer of high-tech chemical analysis systems for food and beverage quality control. The product portfolio centers on the CDR FoodLab® platform—a photometric-based analysis system using LED technology and pre-filled reagents—augmented by specialized instruments for specific industry segments. The core CDR FoodLab® handles general food products (oils, fats, milk, eggs, bakery, tomato derivatives, animal feeds, pet food). Sector-specific variants include CDR OxiTester (olive oil), CDR PalmOilTester (palm oil), CDR WineLab® (wine/vinegar), CDR BeerLab® (beer), CDR CiderLab (cider), CDR KombuchaLab (kombucha), CDR CoffeeLab® (coffee), and CDR DrinkLab® (beverages). Each product line offers Top/Junior configurations for different operational scales. All systems share the core photometric technology platform with pre-calibrated instruments, ready-to-use reagents, and no maintenance requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CDR FoodLab® Photometric chemical analysis system for quality and process control of foods, animal feeds, and pet foods, using pre-filled reagents for rapid testing of oils, fats, milk, eggs, bakery products, and more. Targets QA/QC teams in food manufacturing and processing.
• CDR OxiTester Analysis system specifically designed for olive oil quality testing, measuring acidity, peroxides, polyphenols, and stability index at olive oil mills without requiring specialized laboratory personnel.
• CDR OxiTester Portable Portable version of CDR OxiTester equipped with internal lithium battery, Bluetooth printer, and shockproof suitcase for on-site olive oil analysis at mills and harvest sites.
• CDR PalmOilTester Analytical system for quality control of raw and refined palm oil, used in palm oil mills and food industries across Asia, Africa, and South America for production-line and laboratory analysis.
• CDR WineLab® Wine analysis system for quality control of the winemaking process, enabling analysis of wine and must samples in the laboratory or directly in the wine cellar without specialized personnel.
• CDR BeerLab® Beer analysis system for quality control throughout the brewing process, testing beer, wort, and water parameters for breweries of all sizes from craft to industrial.
• CDR CiderLab Analysis system for quality control at all stages of cider production, using photometric technology with up to 16 simultaneous determinations.
• CDR KombuchaLab Kombucha analysis system for quality control during fermentation, enabling rapid chemical analysis to monitor fermentation and avoid organoleptic deviations.
• CDR CoffeeLab® Coffee analysis system for controlling fermentation processes and defining the chemical profile of green beans, roasted coffee, and beverages, covering the full chain from fruit to cup.
• CDR DrinkLab®

Quantifiable outcome

• 16 analyses in 15 minutes for sulfur dioxide (vs 15 minutes per sample previously)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Benelux Scientific BVcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 28 February 2024Distribution agreement signed February 2024 covering Benelux region (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) for CDR FoodLab analysis systems.
• DKSHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 24 May 2022Partnership agreement signed May 2022 for Thailand distribution of CDR FoodLab products.
• Australasian Distribution PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 13 July 2021Distribution agreement established July 2021 for Australia and surrounding region.
• HLR - Chemlaborreaktiv LLCminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 29 January 2021Partnership confirmed January 2021 for distribution in Russia.
• Gusmer EnterprisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial U.S. distributor for CDR beverage analysis systems including CDR WineLab, CDR BeerLab, CDR CiderLab, CDR KombuchaLab, and CDR DrinkLab. Provides Service with Knowledge based on in-house technical expertise, consulting services, and beverage industry process knowledge. Supports Callaway Winery and Chapin Family Vineyards implementations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Agilent Technologies: Agilent provides HPLC, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopy solutions widely deployed in food testing labs. Represents the established technology stack CDR positions its photometric systems against for rapid, line-side testing.
• PerkinElmer: PerkinElmer (now part of Revvity/Eurofins Scientific's instrument arm) provides analytical instruments and consumables for food safety and quality testing. Broad incumbent in the lab instrument space where CDR competes for mid-market accounts.
• Hach (Danaher): Hach provides water and beverage analysis instruments with photometric and electrochemical technologies for production QC. Overlaps with CDR on beverage-side analysis but operates within Danaher's much larger industrial instrumentation portfolio.
• Mettler-Toledo: Global leader in precision instruments including density meters, refractometers, titrators, and pH meters widely used in food and beverage QC. Competes with CDR on the lab side but offers a much broader portfolio and serves far larger enterprise accounts.
• Bruker Optics: Bruker's NIR and FT-IR spectroscopy solutions are used in food and beverage QC for rapid, multi-parameter analysis. Adjacent technology category to CDR's photometric analyzers with overlap in dairy, oils, and beverage applications.
• Shimadzu Scientific Instruments: Shimadzu offers a broad analytical instrument portfolio (UV-Vis spectrophotometers, HPLC, GC/MS) used in food and beverage labs. Competes at the high-end accuracy tier where CDR's photometric systems are sometimes used alongside or in place of Shimadzu's HPLC.

Direct peers

• AMS Alliance: AMS Alliance (formerly Alliance Analytical) designs and produces dedicated chemical analyzers and ready-to-use reagents for food, beverage, and environmental testing. Closely mirrors CDR's product architecture and vertical specialization approach.
• R-Biopharm: R-Biopharm manufactures analytical test kits and instruments for food and feed quality control (mycotoxins, vitamins, allergens). Comparable in offering dedicated, easy-to-use photometric and immunoassay-based food QC systems to similar industrial customers.
• Foss Analytical: Foss is the global leader in dedicated analytical instruments for food and beverage quality control (milk, grain, wine, brewing). Direct overlap with CDR in dairy and brewing analytics and a comparable value proposition of rapid, dedicated analyzers for non-expert operators.

Others

• Eurofins Scientific: Eurofins is the world's largest food testing services network. While not an instrument competitor, Eurofins represents the incumbent outsourced-lab workflow that CDR's in-line analyzers directly displace, making it a relevant adjacent player for understanding TAM dynamics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cdrfoodlab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 CDR