Vision Healthcare Grabs Nordics Supplements Player NaturaMed

Belgium's Vision Healthcare has acquired Nordics direct-to-consumer supplements player NaturaMed and has big plans to modernize the business. 

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Vision Healthcare is poised to strengthen its position in Europe’s direct-to-consumer dietary supplements market by acquiring Nordic player NaturaMed Pharma from Volati AB for SEK77m ($9.3m).

Describing NaturaMed as “one of the key players in the subscription market of vitamins and nutritional supplements” in the Nordics, Belgium-based Vision noted the firm’s loyalty program boasted around 95,000 yearly active consumers.

NaturaMed’s turnover is expected to reach €13m ($16m) in 2020 from brands – developed by its in-house R&D department – such as Prostata, Vita Serin or VigroVital marketed to consumers in Norway, Finland and Sweden.

Since being acquired by Volati in 2014, NaturaMed had shown “weak growth,” Vision admitted, as its business model had not been modernized at a “satisfactory pace.”

“Vision Healthcare’s specific focus and expertise will provide the NaturaMed Pharma brand with the best conditions to achieve the turnaround that it deserves,” the company insisted. “The current distribution strategy will therefore, amongst others, be complemented by online e-commerce sales, which, combined with an attractive product range, will enable NaturaMed Pharma to renew its growth path.”

Commenting on the deal, Vision CEO Yvan Vindevogel said NaturaMed was a “perfect match” with the firm’s strategy to further consolidate its health-tech platform for direct-to-consumer dietary supplements, beauty and personal care products in Europe. Vision’s existing portfolio includes online supplements platforms VitaminExpress and Cute Nutrition. (Also see "EU Deal Tracker: Ponroy Snaps Up Italy's Pasquali, Vision Healthcare Grabs VItaminExpress" - HBW Insight, 17 Apr, 2019.)

Pan-European Platform

“Following the acquisition of many companies in the direct-to-consumer space, this is an important step in order to further consolidate the market, and to establish a pan-European platform, of which Scandinavia offers great potential,” Vindevogel explained.

Addressing the challenges facing NaturaMed, Vindevogel said he was convinced that “with the necessary expertise and knowledge,” Vision could take the company to the next level.

The acquisition of NaturaMed will help Vision along its way to achieving its stated goal of reaching €200m in annual sales.  With its leading brands including Purasana, Barbel Drexel and Flinndal, Vision generates annual sales of around €135m, mainly from operations in the Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Austria, France, and Germany.

With NaturaMed poised to join the group more deals were expected to follow, Vindevogel said, noting Vision was currently pursuing “multiple other add-on M&A targets…which will all further reinforce the group’s integrated operations and external growth.”

During the summer, Vision secured backing from New York-based private-equity firm Avista Capital Partners to support its expansion in Europe and take it into North America.

Vision said its partnership with Avista would enable the company to continue to grow its geographic presence – with an eye on North America – and to make additional investments in its differentiated direct-to-consumer business model. All Vision shareholders were “prepared to commit significant further capital” to help the company to realize its growth ambitions, it noted. (Also see "Vindevogel’s Vision Healthcare Secures Avista Backing For US Entry" - HBW Insight, 1 Jun, 2020.)

Explaining the rationale for offloading NaturaMed, industrial group Volati said the supplements operation had little in common with its other business units. “The company has shown a weak development since the acquisition in 2014 and in particular we have not been able to modernize its business model at a satisfactory pace,” Volati said. “The company faces major investments if the trend is to be reversed and future profitability secured.”