2023: A year of great achievements
2023 was a more than successful year, enabling us to consolidate our leadership in the gluten-free sector.
Under the leadership of Hannes Berger, CEO of Dr. Schär, we ended the 2023 financial year on a positive note with global sales of €561 million (+16,8% compared to 2022), confirming the growth trend for both domestic and international markets. This is an accomplishment achieved also focusing on the local productions. This not only makes it easier for us to source our products and meet our customers’ needs in a timely manner, but also limits our CO2 emissions.
During the past year, therefore, we have invested €48 million (accounting for 10% of 2022 sales) to strengthen and streamline our production capacity in order to meet growing market demand, but also to further accelerate our business by expanding into new regions such as South America and the Middle East.
The most significant transactions include:
- In Spain, the expansion of our local facility with a new production line;
- In Germany, the modernization of our local plants with new technologically advanced machinery for dosing biscuit cream and for packaging and also the installation of 666 solar panels at the Dreihausen and Apolda facilities, capable of producing around 247,000 kWh of solar energy, equivalent to around 10% of the company’s total electricity consumption;
- In the Nordic countries, the acquisition of Hero’s gluten-free business through which we have also established ourselves as the leader in gluten-free nutrition in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
But we’re not stopping there.
Projects on the agenda for 2024 include the further modernization of the Apolda and Dreihausen plants in Germany, the opening of a new production line in Spain (Alagón - Zaragoza) and the centralization of all US operations in Swedesboro, New Jersey, a plant producing gluten-free and soy-free bread and rolls for the domestic, Canadian and Mexican markets.
Product differentiation and expansion into new nutritional areas also contribute to our growth strategy. Today, in addition to the gluten-free brand Schär, which is the company’s core brand, the Dr. Schär portfolio also includes Kanso and its prescription-based, ketogenic diet products, and the low-protein Flavis line.