Investors are hooked on protein – Kommersant

The structure of the head of the board of directors of the Chernogolovka Group of Companies, Alexei Chetvergov, is expanding its portfolio of assets in the segment of products for a healthy lifestyle. Its portfolio includes sports nutrition supplier Prime-Craft, which is one of the top five market players in terms of revenue. The competition in the industry is high, but the rise in the cost of imports allows local brands to increase their share.

The HLS Principle, headed by Alexei Chetvergov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Chernogolovka Group of Companies, became the owner of Prime-Craft, a manufacturer of sports nutrition. Changes to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities were made on April 18. Mr. Chetvergov did not comment on Tuesday. In “Prime-Craft” “b” did not answer.

Prime-Kraft has been developing and manufacturing sports nutrition under the main Prime Kraft brand at facilities in the Leningrad Region since 2015. The range includes protein bars, cookies, peanut butter, Wowbar and Primebar chips, vitamins, supplements, etc. The products are available in the Rive Gauche chain, the Golden Apple online store, Ozon, Wildberries. In 2022, Prime-Craft’s revenue almost doubled to RUB 618.42 million. year by year. Prior to the deal with the HLS Principle, the company was owned by Serafima Maksimova and Olga Nesterova.

Other assets of the Healthy Principle include the Botanika company, which produces plant products under the \Eggan brand, a manufacturer of cosmetics and household chemicals under the Naturalistyka brand, and a supplier of dietary supplements and plantago vitamin and mineral complexes. GC Chernogolovka produces drinks, snacks, sweets Fantola, Baikal, Bon Giorno, Fry’s, Savinov. The group’s revenue in 2021 is RUB 13.7 billion.

According to Fitness Data estimates based on financial statements, Prime-Craft entered the top five Russian sports nutrition manufacturers in 2022. According to analysts, the revenue of the 20 largest players in the industry grew by an average of 28% last year and showed double-digit rates in previous periods.

Yulia Kuzmina, chairman of the National Association of the Sports Nutrition Industry, says that, unlike other industries, the departure of foreign brands in 2022 did not affect the sports nutrition market. Imports of specialized nutrition products for athletes were restricted back in 2014 as part of a food embargo, she notes.

According to the expert, the demand for sports nutrition has been declining in recent years in many countries, including Russia, due to the general decline in the popularity of bodybuilding, and the market is transforming towards dietary supplements and products for a healthy lifestyle. Competition among Russian producers is already fierce, and business growth is constrained by dependence on imported raw materials, Ms. Kuzmina says. In addition, products in the sports nutrition segment are being released by new players. Thus, Dymov launched the production of a line of protein bars with meat and Proteo berries.

The Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Regional Forecasting of the Russian Agricultural Bank estimates the number of consumers of bioadditives in the form of sports nutrition in Russia at 1.5 million people, and the market for such products is 9,000 tons per year. Analysts see market growth potential due to increased demand for healthy lifestyle products, as well as substitution of imports of raw materials and products from China, the US and the EU. By 2028, sales of sports nutrition in Russia may grow to 12-12.5 thousand tons per year, worth 25 billion rubles, calculated in the center of the Russian Agricultural Bank.

Alexey Popovichev, Executive Director of Rusbrand, notes that consumers remain interested in healthy lifestyles, and the rise in import prices due to the growth of exchange rates and the cost of logistics may encourage buyers to look for more affordable brands. This provides an opportunity to increase the share of local producers, he points out. In addition, the expert continues, the wide distribution of Chernogolovka may allow expanding the brand’s presence in federal networks, where there are already separate healthy food corners.

Anatoly Kostyrev