Veganz

Planethic Group AG
FormerlyVeganz Group AG (2019–2025)
Veganz GmbH (2011–2019)
Company typeAG (public limited company)
FWB: VEZ
ISIN: DE000A3E5ED2
WKN: A3E5ED
IndustryPlant-based food, food technology
Founded12 February 2011 (2011-02-12) in Berlin, Germany
FounderJan Bredack and Juliane Kindler
HeadquartersLudwigsfelde, Germany
Number of locations
None (retail closed 2023)
Area served
DACH region, international
Key people
Sascha Voigt (CEO)
Evgeni Kouris (Chairman, Supervisory Board)
Jan Bredack (founder, largest shareholder)
ProductsPlant-based milk alternatives, cheese, meat substitutes, snacks, dietary supplements
BrandsMililk, Happy Cheeze, Peas on Earth, Veganz
Revenue €10.8 million (2024)
€4.8 million (2024)
Number of employees
~85 (2025)
Websiteplanethic.de

Planethic Group AG (formerly Veganz Group AG, and before that Veganz GmbH) is a German public company headquartered in Ludwigsfelde, Brandenburg. Founded in 2011 by Jan Bredack and Juliane Kindler as the first vegan supermarket chain in Europe,[1] the company has since undergone multiple strategic pivots: from vegan retail to branded plant-based manufacturing to a food technology holding company.

Listed on the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since November 2021, the company's share price has declined over 95% from its IPO price of €87 to an all-time low of €3.83 in March 2026.[2] Planethic has never achieved sustained annual profitability.[3] Between October and November 2025, the company cycled through three CEOs in eight weeks amid governance controversies involving related party transactions and insider dealings.[4]

History

Founding and early expansion (2011–2015)

Veganz was founded in 2010 by Jan Bredack, a former senior manager at Mercedes-Benz, and his then-wife Juliane Kindler. Wanting to simplify vegan food shopping by bundling vegan products in one sales point, they started to build a chain of vegan supermarkets. The company opened its first store in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood on 12 February 2011, with 250 square metres of space. Bredack told the Berliner Zeitung that he had anticipated 100 customers a day, but instead averaged 400.[5]

More supermarkets were opened across Germany, reaching up to ten stores including franchise outlets in Vienna and Prague.[6] In parallel, Veganz entered wholesale distribution, supplying chains including Edeka, Rewe, Metro, dm, and Rossmann.[7]

In the spring of 2015, the company launched its own brand of vegan products. By the end of the year, a range of around 50 plant-based products was available.

Retail insolvency (2016–2017)

However, the sales volume in the stores declined as conventional supermarkets expanded their vegan offerings a trend that Veganz's own wholesale operations had accelerated. In December 2016, the retail subsidiary Veganz Retail GmbH filed for self-administered insolvency (Planinsolvenz) at the Charlottenburg District Court.[5] Bredack stated the stores were losing up to €500,000 per month and declared the model of the pure vegan supermarket obsolete.[6][8] Bredack dismissed media coverage of the insolvency as "bullshit" and "fake news," although the subsidiary was in fact insolvent.[6]

At least four of nine stores were closed immediately. The remaining Berlin locations closed by 2022–2023.[9][10] The parent company Veganz GmbH was not affected by the filing.[5]

Transition to manufacturing and IPO (2017–2021)

Following the insolvency, Veganz pivoted to branded plant-based manufacturing and wholesale. In 2019, the company was restructured as Veganz Group AG and issued bonds in 2020 with a 7.5% interest rate.[11] The group turnover increased by 28% to €26.6 million in 2019.[12] By 2021, Veganz offered over 120 own-brand products in approximately 22,000 retail locations across 26 countries.[13]

On 10 November 2021, Veganz Group AG went public in the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at an issue price of €87 per share near the bottom of the marketed range of €85–105 raising approximately €33.8 million in gross proceeds. Legal advisors were Goodwin Procter and Noerr.[14][15] Bredack held 26.3% of shares; the initial market capitalisation exceeded €106 million.

The primary stated use of proceeds a new production facility in Werder (Havel) was abandoned in 2022 after costs exceeded projections by approximately 30%.[16]

Stock performance

The stock traded below the issue price from its first day. On 24 May 2022, shares fell approximately 50% in a single session following poor quarterly results.[17] By March 2026, the stock had reached an all-time low of €3.83 a loss exceeding 95% from the IPO price with market capitalisation of approximately €5 million.[2]

Restructuring and rebranding (2025)

In August 2025, shareholders approved the spin-off of operating divisions Mililk Food Tech (2D-printed plant milk), Happy Cheeze, Peas on Earth, and Veganz into standalone subsidiaries. The company was renamed Planethic Group AG on 8 September 2025.[18][19]

The Mililk subsidiary was established with an internal pre-money valuation of €80 million approximately 16 times the parent company's total market capitalisation at the time and management announced a potential Nasdaq listing for H2 2026.[20]

Additional acquisitions in September 2025 included Suplabs GmbH (dietary supplements) and IP Innovation Partners Technology GmbH (2D printing machine technology) the latter from a company controlled by the Deputy Supervisory Board Chairman (see below).[21]

OrbiFarm

OrbiFarm was an indoor farming technology platform developed within the Veganz Group using systems licensed from the Fraunhofer Institute.[22] Spun off as a standalone subsidiary in April 2025, it was sold in June 2025 by then-CEO Bredack to an undisclosed buyer for €30 million, payable in instalments through 2028, with Planethic retaining a 25% profit participation.[22][23]

On 1 October 2025 the day Bredack left the CEO role he became Managing Director of OrbiFarm, the entity he had just sold, while remaining Planethic's largest shareholder. The buyer's identity has not been disclosed.[24]

The €30 million book gain accounted for the entirety of the company's reported H1 2025 EBITDA of €25.3 million; adjusted EBITDA excluding this one-off was negative €4.3 million.[25]

Products and brands

Veganz supermarkets originally sold only vegan goods, offering an assortment of over 4,500 products from more than 30 countries, including 45 different kinds of plant milk and cream, vegan ice-creams, vegan cheeses such as Happy Cheeze (now Dr Mannah's),[26] mayonnaise and other dressings, mock meats, fish substitutes, breads, pastries, vegan chocolate, biscuits, sweets, food for companion animals, coffee, toiletries and cosmetics. 85 percent of the sold products were certified organic.[27]

As of March 2026, the Planethic Group operates the following brands:

  • Veganz – confectionery, snacks, baked goods, protein products; transitioning toward dietary supplements
  • Mililk – 2D-printed plant-based milk and beverages (via Mililk Food Tech GmbH)
  • Happy Cheeze – fermented and cashew-based vegan cheese
  • Peas on Earth – pea protein-based meat and fish alternatives

Products are distributed in the DACH region through retail partners including Edeka, Rewe, Spar International, Rossmann, dm, and wholesale via Transgourmet.[25]

Veganz's mock-cheese 'The Gourmet', based on cashews, won the PETA vegan food award in 2020.[28] The company also launched a vegan smoked salmon alternative based on Atlantic seaweed, opening a dedicated production facility in Neubrandenburg in June 2022.[29]

Financial performance

Veganz/Planethic has not achieved sustained annual profitability since its founding. Revenue declined from a peak of €30.4 million in 2021 to €10.8 million in 2024, while cumulative net losses since the IPO exceed €38 million.

Financial summary (€ millions)
Year Revenue Net result
2019 26.6 —
2021 30.4 −13.3
2022 23.6 −11.0
2023 16.4 −9.5
2024 10.8 −4.8
H1 2025 2.0 adj. EBITDA: −4.3[a]

Sources: presseportal.de (2019); annual reports, Bundesanzeiger (2021–2024); pressetext.com (H1 2025).[25]

Total board compensation in 2023 amounted to €795,000 against revenue of €16.4 million and a net loss of €9.5 million.[30]

Bond default and creditor intervention

The company was unable to repay its 7.5% bond 2020/2025 (ISIN: DE000A254NF5, outstanding volume: €9.853 million) at maturity in February 2025. A first bondholder vote in November 2024 failed to reach the required quorum. The SdK Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger organised a bondholder interest group and submitted counter-motions demanding annual 5% partial repayments from 2026 and interest payments linked to market capitalisation. In a second vote on 17 December 2024, bondholders approved a five-year extension to February 2030; interest payments for 2024 and 2025 were suspended entirely.[31][32][33]

SdK spokesman Michael Kunert commented that the company had "merely bought time and is far from out of the woods."[31]

Capital increases and dilution

During 2025, multiple capital increases raised the share count from approximately 1.25 million to over 2.12 million approximately 54% dilution. Several issuances excluded subscription rights for existing shareholders. Of the newly issued shares, 200,000 were used as payment for the IP Innovation Partners Technology acquisition (see below). Total equity raised was approximately €8.44 million.[31][21]

Leadership crisis and governance

Three CEOs in eight weeks

Between October and November 2025, the CEO position changed hands three times:

  1. Jan Bredack stepped down on 30 September 2025, transitioning to Managing Director of the recently sold OrbiFarm (see above).[24]
  2. Rayan Tegtmeier took office on 1 October 2025 and was dismissed with immediate effect on 21 November, after 52 days. The filing cited "mutual agreement."[34]
  3. Sascha Voigt, previously Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board and a major shareholder, became CEO on 24 November 2025.[35]

The bond-focused publication BondGuide characterised the changes as "erneutes Stühlerücken" (renewed game of musical chairs).[4]

Tegtmeier had previously been a shareholder and managing director of the Brillant Firmengruppe, a German staffing group with approximately 2,000 employees and €70 million in annual revenue that filed for insolvency in March 2021.[36] JOBZ GmbH, where Tegtmeier served as managing director, underwent insolvency proceedings concluded in July 2025—concurrent with his appointment at Planethic.[37]

In September 2025, Planethic acquired 100% of IP Innovation Partners Technology GmbH a spin-off from IP Innovation Partners GmbH, described in the ad hoc filing as a "long-standing service provider" to Planethic for €3 million paid in 200,000 newly issued shares with no contractual lock-up period.[21]

IP Innovation Partners GmbH was founded and led by Sascha Voigt, who at the time simultaneously served as Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board (the body responsible under § 111a–c AktG for approving related party transactions), as a major shareholder of Planethic, and as CEO of the selling entity.[38][35] No independent fairness opinion has been publicly disclosed. Whether Voigt recused himself from the Supervisory Board's deliberation has not been addressed in public filings.[38]

Two months later, Voigt was appointed CEO, assuming operational control over the technology and IP assets his own company had sold to Planethic.[35]

Supervisory Board changes

Former Supervisory Board Chairman Roland Sieker, a former Unilever vice president, resigned two days after the August 2025 annual general meeting. He was replaced by Evgeni Kouris, himself a Planethic shareholder.[19][39]

At the same meeting, Maja Bredack the founder's spouse was elected to the Supervisory Board despite objections from the SdK Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger on grounds of insufficient independence.[40]

In January 2026, CEO Voigt announced plans to elect founder Bredack to the Supervisory Board at an extraordinary general meeting a step that would place the company's largest shareholder and former CEO in the body overseeing the current CEO.[40]

Vitiprints litigation

In September 2024, US-based Vitiprints LLC sued Veganz Group AG in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 1:24-cv-06845), alleging trade secret misappropriation under the Defend Trade Secrets Act. Vitiprints claimed Veganz had independently marketed products using its patented 2D food-printing technology after terminating a December 2022 licence agreement.[41]

The dispute was apparently resolved when Planethic and Vitiprints signed a new global licensing agreement in October 2025.[42]

Notes

  1. ^ The reported H1 2025 EBITDA of €25.3 million includes the €30 million OrbiFarm book gain; the adjusted figure excludes this one-off.

References

  1. ^ "How I built world's first vegan supermarket chain". The Local Germany. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Planethic Group Aktie". boerse.de. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Veganz Group: Endet das Kursdesaster in der Pleite?". ShareDeals. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Planethic Group: neuerliches Stühlerücken an der Führungsspitze". BondGuide. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  5. ^ a b c "Veganz meldet Insolvenz an, baut in Berlin aber aus". Berliner Zeitung. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "Wie die Veganz-Supermärkte sich selbst abschafften". Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  7. ^ "Lebensmittelhersteller Veganz: Kooperation mit Discountern". taz. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Veganz kannibalisiert sich". taz. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  9. ^ "Veganz geht in die Insolvenz". wallstreet-online.de. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Germany's Veganz Group sells its retail business". PPTI News. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Veganz als Veganz Group AG neu aufgestellt". presseportal.de. 5 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Veganz: Gruppenumsatz wächst 2019 um 28 %". presseportal.de. 28 January 2020.
  13. ^ "About us". Veganz. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  14. ^ "Veganz legt endgültigen Ausgabepreis fest". finanzen.net. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Goodwin und Noerr begleiten Börsendebüt für Veganz". Legal Tribune Online. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Veganz Group: Umsatzrückgang, Verluste und eine teurer werdende neue Fabrik". 4investors. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  17. ^ "Veganz Aktie: 50 % Kursverlust an einem Tag!". BrokerDeal. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Veganz Rebrands and Restructures". The Munich Eye. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  19. ^ a b "Veganz Group open to investors in spun-off subsidiaries". Just Food. 19 August 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  20. ^ "CEO Rayan Tegtmeier will an die NASDAQ". Nebenwerte-Magazin. 26 October 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  21. ^ a b c "Acquisition of a Technology Company". Deutsche Börse. 16 September 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  22. ^ a b "Veganz Group AG realisiert 30 Mio. Euro Gewinn". Börse Frankfurt. 26 June 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  23. ^ "Veganz Group spins-off Mililk unit as €30m realised from Orbifarm sale". Just Drinks. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  24. ^ a b "Veganz Group's Jan Bredack steps down as CEO". Just Food. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  25. ^ a b c "Planethic Group AG: H1/2025". pressetext.com. 25 September 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  26. ^ "Happy Cheeze founder Dr. Mudar Mannah on the rise of vegan cheese". Just Food. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  27. ^ "Ueber Veganz" Archived 26 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, veganz.de
  28. ^ "PETAs Vegan Food Award 2019: Das sind die Gewinner". 7 May 2019.
  29. ^ "Veganz Opens Vegan Salmon Factory". vegconomist. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  30. ^ Geschäftsbericht 2023, Veganz Group AG, Bundesanzeiger.
  31. ^ a b c "Veganz kämpft mit Kapitalerhöhung gegen Verluste". Der Tagesspiegel. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  32. ^ "Veganz-Anleihe: Gläubiger beschließen Laufzeitverlängerung". ecoreporter.de. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  33. ^ "SdK stellt Gegenantrag". Anleihen-Finder. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  34. ^ "Veränderung im Vorstand". pressetext.com. 21 November 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  35. ^ a b c "Sascha Voigt wird CEO". pressetext.com. 24 November 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  36. ^ "Brillant Firmengruppe stellt Insolvenzanträge". INDat.de. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  37. ^ "Rayan Leif Mithran Tegtmeier". North Data. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  38. ^ a b "Planethic übernimmt Technologieunternehmen". vegconomist. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  39. ^ "Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender Sieker tritt zurück". vegconomist. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  40. ^ a b "Neu-CEO Sascha Voigt im Exklusivinterview". Nebenwerte-Magazin. 7 January 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  41. ^ "Got 'Flat' Milk?: NY Company Says German Ex-Partner Stole Flat-Food Trade Secrets". Law.com. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  42. ^ "Planethic and Vitiprints Sign Global Licensing Deal". vegconomist. October 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.

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