Veganz Group founder Jan Bredack is stepping down as CEO of the loss-making vegan food producer and retailer.
Rayan Tegtmeier, described as a “seasoned financial expert”, will take over the CEO role from Bredack on 1 October, according to a stock exchange filing.
Bredack will remain “closely associated” with Veganz Group as the Berlin-headquartered company’s largest shareholder.
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He will now focus on indoor farming as the managing director of OrbiFarm, the business Veganz Group sold for €30m ($34.6m) to an unidentified “third party” earlier this year, plus a profit share.
Veganz Group said in May it was looking to restructure the business into five business units under the brands Veganz, Mililk, Happy Cheeze, Peas on Earth and Orbifarm. That was before the vertical-farming business asset was sold.
Then in July, Veganz Group revealed it was spinning off the Mililk plant-based milk drinks business as part of an effort to raise new funds and in “preparation for entry of strategic investors”.
Tegtmeier’s career history includes CFO of online supplements business nu3 Group and a board member of OTI Greentech, a tech solutions provider.
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By GlobalDataHe has also “executed multiple buy-and-build strategies across the DACH region”, including M&A, according to the filing.
Tegtmeier will help steer Veganz Group into its “next growth phase as a scalable technology company”.
The incoming CEO added: “Under my leadership, the focus will be on profitable scaling, efficient capital allocation, and both organic as well as inorganic business expansion.
“My goal is to advance the chosen path, tap into new growth markets, and attract institutional investors – thereby helping to address what I believe is a significant undervaluation of the company’s share price.”
Veganz Group’s shares traded little changed at €17.70 in Frankfurt today (5 August). They have climbed more than 20% of the past 12 months.
Since founding Veganz Group in 2011, Bredack has “transformed” the business from a vegan supermarket chain to an “innovative producer of plant-based foods with strong growth prospects”, the filing read.
Reporting its 2024 results in May, Veganz Group said sales dropped 34% to €10.8m.
It added that the DACH region, namely Germany, Austria and Switzerland, accounted for 95% of the sales total with Germany the company’s largest market at 81%.
Meanwhile, EBITDA losses for 2024 narrowed to €2.4m from €6.3m a year earlier, and similarly, the net loss shrank to €4.8m from €9.5m.
Last month, Veganz Group announced it had raised €7.1m through a new share issue, which “significantly strengthened its equity base”.
A further capital raise via a private placement with strategic investors is planned, with the shares on offer to be priced at €15 each.
