Nutri United has announced its first major funding round just a few months after being founded by Josef Brunner. Entrepreneurs from foodtech, buy & build, communications, and new business models are investing a total of €8.5 million. The investors include Martina Pfeifer, Tim Stracke, Oliver Merkel, Christof Wahl, Marc Müller, Frank Dopheide, Arnd Hungerberg, Finn Wentzler, Leon Mann, Hadi Saleh, and Timo Seggelmann.
With this capital, Nutri United is continuing its buy-and-build strategy in the food sector. The group already includes Grasmehr and Morawitzky, which together employ over 140 employees. According to Brunner, Nutri United is pursuing a clear goal:
“We want to create a home for family-run food companies. We stand for genuine entrepreneurship, passion for craftsmanship, and honest products, and we see ourselves as the anti-corporation. Even as we grow, we want to remain small, agile, and close to our customers. As the son of a baker, it’s a deeply personal drive for me to return to my roots and dedicate myself with Nutri United to the most important mission of my life: to secure the future of mid-market food craftsmanship with Nutri United.”
Brunner also emphasizes the economic significance of a functioning succession ecosystem:
“From our perspective, this is not only relevant for the food industry, but also has enormous economic significance, as many companies without a succession plan will have no future.”
Strategic support from investors
The investors support Nutri United not only financially, but also strategically and operationally. They bring broad expertise from various business areas.
Finn Wentzler, Founding Partner at Atlantis Ventures, highlights:
“Behind every strong company stand extraordinary people. Josef and his team are experienced, visionary, execution-focused, and at the same time down-to-earth. I’m delighted about this milestone.”
Timo Seggelmann, Managing Partner at Oak Horizon, also emphasizes:
“I’m very excited to be part of the Nutri United journey. The clarity with which Josef Brunner and his team are building this company strategically – combined with genuine operational excellence and entrepreneurial spirit – is impressive.”
With this funding, Nutri United plans to make further acquisitions and expand its activities around craft-focused food companies in the meat, meat alternatives, and finished products sectors. Serial entrepreneur Brunner, who built and successfully sold companies like Relayr and Joulex, wants to use his new concept to sustainably transform the food industry.
