Lesaffre strengthens global vitamin K2 presence with NattoPharma acquisition

21 May 2021 --- Lesaffre has completed its takeover of NattoPharma, in a move pegged to strengthen Gnosis by Lesaffre’s presence in the global human nutrition and health market. 

“The vitamin K2 market has been growing at double-digit growth for several years now and it is set to continue,” Marc Philouze, managing director of Gnosis by Lesaffre, tells NutritionInsight.

He says that joining forces with NattoPharma will be an advantage to sustain and capture that growth. It will benefit from the cumulative strengths of the two companies’ historical knowledge, brand awareness and intellectual property. 

“Working now as one combined team, we will be able to offer a unique range of options and support to our loyal customers and brand owners so that they can meet the needs of increasingly discerning nutrition consumers,” he explains.

Given that Lesaffre now holds more than 90 percent of the share capital of NattoPharma, a delisting and compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares will be carried out in due course.

The acquisition of the Norwegian company specializing in research and marketing of vitamin K2 was first announced in February. At the time, Lesaffre’s offer valued NattoPharma’s total equity at NOK 631 million (US$75 million) on a fully diluted basis. 

Philouze adds that the acquisition price for the formal offer was 35 NOK (US$4) per share. “It corresponds to the assessment of the company’s value after a thorough due diligence and takes into account the vitamin K2 market growth as well as NattoPharma’s development prospects.”Gnosis by Lesaffre and NattoPharma have found a shared focus on developing solutions that deliver on the health promise made to consumers.

Strengthening presence
Gnosis by Lesaffre is already an established vitamin K2 supplier, but this acquisition is expected to help the business expand the awareness about and access to the benefits of vitamin K2 to support the health capital of consumers.

“Lesaffre has been present on the vitamin K2 market for about ten years,” states Antoine Baule, CEO of Lesaffre. 

“This operation demonstrates our willingness to invest in clinical trials to research and demonstrate the effects of vitamin K2 for the benefit of consumers, which we can deepen hand in hand with the combined expertise of NattoPharma and Gnosis by Lesaffre.”

Philouze adds that the business can now accelerate its investments in clinical trials to research and demonstrate vitamin K2 effects for the benefit of consumers.

Some studies will focus on existing indications, while others will also explore novel areas where the bodies’ physiological processes could benefit from vitamin K2 supplementation. 

Last October, Gnosis by Lesaffre revealed that biotransformation would form the core of its fully integrated brand and business strategy.Each of the four quadrants support a passion for aiding bone and heart health through science.

A new brand identity
NattoPharma has also unveiled a new brand identity, logo and website this week that highlights its “scientific leadership.” 

“The brand lift connects the decades of successful work creating the K2 category with the Japanese origins of K2. The new logo is born out of the Japanese concept of ‘ikigai,’ meaning ‘purpose for being,’” details Andrew Green, NattoPharma’s vice president of global marketing and communications.

NattoPharma uses the four quadrants of this philosophy to express its connection to Mission, Passion, Vocation and Profession.

Asked about the timing of this reveal, Philouze says that Lesaffre is respectful of the regulatory and legal requirements of such acquisition. He also notes that NattoPharma has continued to operate as a fully independent company prior to the completion of the offer process.

“Rebranding is part of a company’s lifecycle, and we find a lot of alignment with the ikigai principles chosen by NattoPharma to illustrate their identity,” he remarks.

“The teams of both companies will now start working together to define the most suitable positioning and communication that will help us continue our ambition to benefit human health and well-being thanks to the power of microorganisms.”

By Katherine Durrell