LFA Machines acquires Vivion, bringing machinery and nutrition ingredients together for North America market

29 Aug 2022 --- LFA Machines, a manufacturer of products and services in the tableting and encapsulation sector, is acquiring Vivion, a global provider of ingredient solutions for everyday applications, under the holding company Operio Group.

The acquisition will accelerate the aim of providing more diverse ingredient products and expanding assistance for nutraceutical production customers across North America.

“We are changing the industry and this will be the first time a machinery company and an ingredients company have worked so closely together. In reality, this allows us to better support how the customers will use the machines and products in a manufacturing setting,” Alastair Sanderson, CEO of Operio Group, tells NutritionInsight.

“The acquisition is exciting for those in the industry as they will see that we are no longer just selling machines or ingredients. With the two companies’ knowledge, we will be able to help our customers overcome the technical challenges they face.”

“We hope that with this, we will be able to drive innovation in the industry in a way never seen before. The sales price is not being disclosed,” he adds.

Growing consumer base and product line
With the acquisition of Vivion, LFA Machines, with headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, is growing its product range with ingredients as well as their customer base across the US and Canada.

The acquisition will expedite LFA Machines’ aim of expanding support for nutraceutical production customers across North America.Sanderson explains that the nutrition industry and its consumers will be impacted “We are changing the industry as this will be the first time a machinery company and an ingredients company have worked so closely together. In reality, this allows us to better support how the customers will use the machines and products in a manufacturing setting.”

Regarding the potential that the North American area has within the nutraceutical market, Sanderson adds that: “the North American nutraceutical market is estimated to grow to US$118 billion in the next three to four years.”

“We are confident that we can be part of that growth by aligning our success with the success of our customers. We hope that once we have established a firm footing in the US market, we will be able to return to our solid UK or EU base and then build off of that to offer a similar type of exceptional support to the industry.”

Vivion is a company that specializes in offering quality ingredients for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food and beverage, cosmetics, personal care, agricultural and industrial markets. It has locations in California, US, and Canada and distribution centers along the west coast.

Addressing market issues
This collaboration of technical expertise in ingredients and machinery assists customers across the industry in overcoming manufacturing challenges. The Operio Group was founded to invest in companies that provide direct services to the food, beverage, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries.

The Operio Group was established to invest in companies that provide direct services to the F&B and nutraceutical manufacturing industries.The Operio Group aims to bring together multidisciplinary teams from various supply chains in its support industries. It can provide products and help people due to the consolidated knowledge of its brands.

“The ultimate goal is to offer our customers a complete service. By bringing the ingredient, tooling and machinery suppliers all in-house, we can support the customer along their entire journey,” says Alastair Sanderson, chief operating officer at LFA Machines.

“We hope that by bringing these two brands together, we will be able to address issues in the market, issues our customers have been experiencing, and drive innovation, growth and business in North America.”

In previous North America moves, Danone continued to develop its plant-based alternative solutions as a result of recent studies showing that a varied diet that includes both plant-based and animal-derived meals, as opposed to a reductionist diet like keto or paleo, has a favorable impact on gut microbiota health.

By Nicole Kerr