What Krüger GmbH & Co. KG does

KRÜGER GROUP (Krüger GmbH & Co. KG) is a family-owned, vertically integrated food and beverage manufacturer headquartered in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. The company operates across seven market segments — Beverages, Sweets & Chocolates, Infant Nutrition, Healthy Snacking & Sports Nutrition, Food Supplements & Pharma Products, Water Optimization & Water Preparation, and Food Ingredients — through 11 wholly-owned subsidiaries and 22 production locations spanning 11 countries. Its technology base covers the full vertical production chain including processing, filling, and packaging for beverages, confectionery, nutrition products, and food ingredients.

The company monetizes through three parallel business models: (1) proprietary brand sales of a 25+ brand portfolio including Schogetten, Maxi Nutrition, K-fee, Sodapop, Kaba, Banania, Trumpf, Mauxion, and several sweetener and coffee brands distributed in over 80 countries; (2) Private Label development and manufacturing for major retailers, primarily in Beverages and Sweets & Chocolates; and (3) Co-Manufacturing contract services supplying production capacity and specialized expertise including milk and cocoa semi-finished products, fillings, and glazings to food industry partners. Captive raw material supply is anchored by a partnership with contract farmers in the Stendal region delivering 1.2 million liters of QM-Milk-certified milk daily.

The go-to-market is sales-led and B2B-focused, combining direct enterprise relationships with retail and co-manufacturing partners and broad consumer distribution through retail chains in over 80 countries. Multi-channel marketing includes corporate brand websites in five languages (German, English, French, Polish, Spanish), LinkedIn and Instagram presence, and trade fair participation. As a privately held limited partnership with disclosed FY2024 revenue of €2.9 billion and approximately 5,700 employees worldwide, KRÜGER GROUP is one of the larger family-owned food industry groups in Europe.

Name

Krüger GmbH & Co. KG

Legal name

KRÜGER GROUP

Website

https://krueger-unternehmen.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

KRÜGER GROUP is a family-owned German food and beverage manufacturer operating across seven market segments through 11 subsidiaries and 22 production locations in 11 countries. It serves global retail, food industry, and consumer markets via proprietary brands (Schogetten, Maxi Nutrition), Private Label manufacturing, and Co-Manufacturing services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food and beverage manufacturing

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311), Chocolate and Confectionery Manufacturing from Cacao Beans (311351)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Sugar & Confectionery Products (2060), Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Label Beverage Manufacturing (Retail/Brand-Owned Formulations) (AFAFAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Baby Nutrition for Special Diets (Gluten-Free, Kosher/Halal, Allergen-Controlled) (CRADAEAO), Snack Bars (Granola, Protein, Cereal Bars) (CRADABAG)

Keywords

• Food manufacturing
• Private label production
• Contract manufacturing
• Confectionery production
• Beverage production

Headquarters

HQ city

Bergisch Gladbach

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Own Brands Portfolio: Revenue from proprietary brand portfolio including Schogetten (iconic chocolate brand), Maxi Nutrition (sports nutrition), and other consumer brands sold in over 80 countries
2. Private Label: Development and production of customized Private Label products for retail partners, with focus on Beverages and Sweets & Chocolates categories
3. Co-Manufacturing: Contract manufacturing services providing production capacity and specialized expertise, including milk and cocoa semi-finished products, fillings, and glazings with consistent quality

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

KRÜGER GROUP is a vertically integrated food and beverage manufacturer that develops, produces, and distributes branded and Private Label products across Beverages, Sweets & Chocolates, Infant Nutrition, Healthy Snacking & Sports Nutrition, Food Supplements & Pharma Products, Water Optimization, and Food Ingredients. It serves retailers through Private Label manufacturing and other food companies through Co-Manufacturing contracts, while distributing its own proprietary brands (including Schogetten, Maxi Nutrition, K-fee, and Sodapop) across more than 80 countries.

Product overview

Krüger GmbH & Co. KG (Krüger Group) operates as a diversified food and beverage manufacturer organized across seven business segments: Beverages, Sweets & Chocolates, Infant Nutrition, Healthy Snacking & Sports Nutrition, Food Supplements & Pharma Products, Water Optimization & Water Preparation, and Food Ingredients. The company serves global markets through three core business models: proprietary brands (including Schogetten, Maxi Nutrition, and many others sold in over 80 countries), Private Label manufacturing for retailers, and Co-Manufacturing for contract production. The group consists of 11 subsidiaries including K-fee System, SODAPOP, HNC Healthy Nutrition Company, Dr. B. Scheffler, Ludwig Schokolade, Wilhelm Reuss, Fuchs Hoffmann Kakaoprodukte, Lactoland, Milchwerke Mittelelbe, and GCS German Capsule Solution, providing comprehensive coverage from raw materials to finished products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Schogetten: Iconic chocolate brand available in over 80 countries
• MaxiNutrition
• Kfee
• Sodapop
• Kaba
• Banania
• Trumpf
• Mauxion
• Hafervoll
• Hermesetas
• Assugrin
• SteviaSweet
• Benco
• Additiva
• Cebe
• Espresto
• Fritt
• Millymoo
• Mr. Mrs. Mill
• Rugard
• SignatureBlend
• Suchard Express
• Winsenia
• Duopenotti
• Edletropfen

Products and services

• Schogetten Iconic chocolate brand featuring portion-controlled chocolate pieces, one of the company's leading consumer brands distributed in over 80 countries.
• Maxi Nutrition Leading sports nutrition brand offering products for athletes and fitness consumers.
• K-fee Proprietary coffee brand within the Krüger Group portfolio, supporting coffee systems and related products via the K-fee System subsidiary.
• Sodapop Proprietary beverage brand within the Krüger Group portfolio, operating via the SODAPOP GmbH subsidiary.
• Private Label B2B service developing and producing customized retailer brand products tailored to customer needs and portfolios, with main focus on the Beverages and Sweets & Chocolates categories.
• Co-Manufacturing B2B contract manufacturing service providing modern production technologies and customized solutions for food industry partners, including supply of high-quality food ingredients such as milk and cocoa semi-finished products, fillings, and coatings.

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Contract Farmers (Stendal Region)coreOthersMilk sourcing partnership with contract farmers in the Stendal region delivering 1.2 million liters daily, certified according to QM-Milk standards. Farmers provide milk from cows in Laufställe (free-stall barns) with pasture access, many utilizing renewable energy.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ofi (Olam Food Ingredients): Global supplier of cocoa, coffee, dairy, and nut ingredients serving food manufacturers and retailers. Direct overlap with Krüger's Food Ingredients segment (cocoa and dairy semi-finished products) and beverage/private label formulations, while ofi is more ingredient-focused and less vertically integrated into finished consumer brands.
• Glanbia plc: Global nutrition and dairy ingredients group operating across performance nutrition, dairy ingredients, and consumer products. Comparable to Krüger's Maxi Nutrition sports nutrition brand and Food Ingredients (dairy proteins), with a more focused positioning in performance and functional nutrition.
• Barry Callebaut: World's leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, producing directly from cacao beans and serving both B2B confectionery and food service as well as consumer brands. Direct structural overlap with Krüger's Ludwig Schokolade and Fuchs & Hoffmann cocoa businesses across private label, co-manufacturing, and proprietary chocolate.
• DMK Deutsches Milchkontor: Germany's largest dairy cooperative producing milk, dairy ingredients, and private label dairy products. Closely comparable to Krüger's Milchwerke Mittelelbe and Lactoland dairy operations from a German/European private label and ingredients standpoint.
• Ferrero: Family-owned global confectionery powerhouse (Nutella, Kinder, Ferrero Rocher) combining proprietary brands with vertically integrated cocoa sourcing and private label supply. Closely comparable to Krüger in operating model — family ownership, brand-led chocolate portfolio, and integrated manufacturing across multiple countries.
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): Global food ingredients processor with a significant cocoa business (deZaan), dairy ingredients, and nutrition offerings. Directly comparable to Krüger's Food Ingredients segment and cocoa/dairy upstream integration, though ADM also services much broader end-markets and geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Mondelēz International: Global confectionery, biscuit, chocolate, and beverage giant (Cadbury, Toblerone, Côte d'Or). Comparable at the finished chocolate/confectionery consumer-brand level but operates at substantially larger scale and as a publicly traded incumbent rather than a family-owned mid-cap.
• Nestlé: World's largest food and beverage company with overlapping exposure to confectionery (KitKat, Smarties), coffee, infant nutrition, and sports/medical nutrition. Direct overlap on multiple of Krüger's seven segments, but at vastly larger scale and as a publicly traded blue-chip incumbent.
• Cargill: Privately held global food, agriculture, and cocoa processor with major operations in cocoa, chocolate, and food ingredients. Comparable at the upstream/midstream layer to Krüger's ingredient and cocoa semi-finished product subsidiaries, although Cargill operates at far broader scale and across many more end-markets.

Regional players

• Südzucker AG: German-headquartered food manufacturer operating across sugar, special products, and fruit/crop-based ingredients. Comparable as a similarly sized, family-adjacent German food manufacturer with diversified food segments and B2B/private label exposure, though more focused on sugar/sweeteners than confectionery end-products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kr-ger-gmbh-co-kg
• Instagraminstagram.com/kruegergroup_germany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries11 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 Krüger GmbH & Co. KG