Summa Equity acquires Nutris to innovate sustainable plant-based nutrition
September 3rd, 2024, Stockholm: Impact investment firm Summa Equity (“Summa”) has acquired a majority stake in Nutris LLC (“Nutris”), in a spin-out from a Danish corporation. Nutris is an innovative, sustainable, plant-based nutrition factory based in Zagreb, Croatia, with its research and development efforts based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jacob Frandsen, Partner at Summa commented: “Investing in the plant-based food sector is key as our current food system heavily strains the planet’s resources. Providing sustainable protein sources for the growing global population is crucial, and an important part of our Resource Efficiency strategy. We are proud to support one of the true innovators in this field.”
Founded in 2019 by visionary Croatian entrepreneur Zvonimir Sedlic, Nutris is leading the plant-based shift with a mission to make food better while supporting the development of the farming community. Drawing on Sedlic’s background as a crop and protein trader, Nutris is dedicated to innovation and sustainable growth in plant-based industries by uniting farming and technology communities. More than 500 farmers have joined Nutris, growing fava beans, using circular economy principles. Together, they are shaping the future of sustainable food solutions to address global food challenges.
Nutris is one of the driving forces globally for developing high-quality, cost-competitive plant-based proteins applicable to a wide range of product categories. The ambition is to reshape the nutrition industry with plant-based proteins, including fava beans, which have one of the lowest carbon footprints of all plant proteins and over 90% lower emissions than whey protein. Fava beans offer an alternative to soy and pea protein, meeting the growing industry and consumer demand for more sustainable plant-based options.
Investing from its EUR 2.3bn Summa Equity Fund III, the acquisition leverages Summa's established history of enhancing portfolio companies' strategies for value creation, aiming to drive sustainable growth and address critical global issues. Summa’s acquisition of Nutris will allow the company to scale, and further improve its product offering. Going forward, the focus will be on scaling up yield and capacity to drive improved performance and growth in output.
Zvonimir Sedlić, CEO and Founder of Nutris commented: ”Joining the Summa portfolio is a big milestone for Nutris. Our team has put in a great effort to develop pure, great-tasting protein that genuinely adds value to our customers. Partnering with mission-aligned investor like Summa will help us scale our operations and amplify our impact on the food system. I’m excited about what we can achieve together as we push boundaries of innovation in plant-based nutrition, benefithing both the environment and our communities.”
Nutris is committed to meeting the growing demand for healthy, environmentally friendly, and pure products. With the high-quality fava bean protein and patented processes, Nutris aims to improve and differenciate the nutritional profile of plant-based dairy and meat, sports nutrition, and convenient food products.
The acquisition of Nutris is being made within Summa’s Resource Efficiency investment theme and contributes positively to UN Sustainable Development Goal #12 and #13.
For interviews or more information, please contact:
Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen, COO and Head of IR at Summa Equity
+47 936 41 960 | hannah.jacobsen@summaequity.com
About Nutris
Nutris has established itself as a pioneer in the plant-based food industry with the opening of Europe’s first facility for producing premium protein ingredients from fava beans, aiming to become a net zero protein producer. Located in Novi Senkovac, Croatia, this cutting-edge facility is central to Nutris’s bold vision of becoming a leading agro-industrial hub by 2030, dedicated to building a healthier future, one bean at a time.
Committed to regenerative agriculture, Nutris is working with a growing network of 500 farmers, revitalizing soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and boosting carbon capture, thereby making a significant positive impact on the ecosystem and the local community.
The company’s products—ranging from high-quality protein isolates to starch and fiber—are now making significant gains in markets across the EU, North America, and Asia, setting new standards in plant-based nutrition.
About Summa
Founded in 2016, Summa is an impact investor focusing on three thematic areas: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation. The purpose of Summa is to invest in solving our global challenges.
Summa has c. EUR 5 billion in assets under management and has made over 30 platform investments across the three funds raised to date. Investments have the potential for long-term sustainable outperformance because they address some of the social, environmental, and governmental challenges we need to solve as a society.
The team is located in Northern Europe, with offices in Stockholm, Oslo, and Munich. Partnerships are part of Summa’s DNA, exemplified by being a certified B Corporation and collaborating with Harvard Business School and the International Foundation for Valuing Impacts (IFVI).
