Havea Group buys Bears with Benefits

The two Munich-based founders have sold their start-up for vitamin gummy bears for a sum in the mid double-digit million range.

Bears with Benefits was founded in Munich in 2018 and is now part of the French Havea Group. The companies did not disclose the exact purchase price, but it is said to be in the mid double-digit million euro range. The two founders Laurence Saunier and Marlena Hien will remain with the company. "We remain true to our mission: to make the stressful everyday lives of many women a little easier with our healthy and delicious products," says Saunier.

The start-up develops, produces and distributes nutritional supplements in gummy form. According to the company, it employs 25 people and has a turnover of around 15 million euros for the current year. Drugstore chains such as DM, Rossmann and Douglas offer Bears with Benefits products, but they are also sold in their own online stores. Social media platforms in particular are also an important sales market.

The founders previously owned 100 percent of the start-up. For the French consumer healthcare company Havea, Bears with Benefits is the first takeover since BC Partners and PSP Investments acquired a majority stake in October. Overall, it is the sixth acquisition in six years. "As an all-female founding team, we are particularly pleased to be taking on a pioneering role with this transaction," says founder Marlena Hien. "After all, only four percent of all exits in Europe are 'female-led', i.e. have at least one woman in the founding team."