According to Oghma Partners, since 2019, the sector has seen 305 deals worth €87.3bn, ranging from under €1m to over €10bn, including landmark mega-deals such as IFF/DuPont N&B (€25.8bn), DSM/Firmenich (€22.2bn), and Novozymes/Chr. Hansen (€11.6bn). While most transactions fell within the €1m–€50m bracket, notable large-cap deals included Astorg/Solabia (€1.1bn, 2025). Distribution led activity, accounting for 21% of volumes, with Azelis driving consolidation. Additives (15%) and blends (10%) also saw strong momentum, supported by Solina’s 11 transactions under Astorg’s buy-and-build model. Flavours were another active category, with Nactarome and Turpaz particularly acquisitive. Cross-border activity made up 65% of deals, reflecting the drive for geographic expansion. Consolidation, consumer trends in health and sustainability, and private equity interest, representing over 40% of deal flow, are underpinning record activity in 2025.
Further highlights include:
- 2025 is on course for a record year, with ~40 transactions already recorded to date.
- Between 2019 and YTD 2025, the European Food Ingredients M&A market recorded 305 transactions worth c. €87.3bn, spanning deals from <€1m to >€10bn.
- Annual deal values typically ranged from €500m–€8bn, aside from exceptional mega-deals such as IFF/DuPont N&B (€25.8bn, 2019), DSM/Firmenich (€22.2bn, 2022) and Novozymes/Chr. Hansen (€11.6bn, 2022).
- Most deals fell within the €1m–€50m range, consistent across years, though notable large-cap transactions included Firmenich/DRT (€1.7bn, 2020), InVivo/Groupe Soufflet (€2.1bn, 2021), Advent/IRCA (€1bn, 2022), and Astorg/Solabia (€1.1bn, 2025).
- Distribution was the most active category (20.7% of deal volume), with 69.8% of deals sized €1m–€10m. Azelis was a key consolidator, completing nine acquisitions.
- Additives ranked second (15.1% of deal volume), reflecting the category’s broad scope, with extracts and proteins among the most targeted sub-segments.
- Blends accounted for 10.2% of deal activity, driven by Solina’s 11 transactions (35.5% share of category volume), under Astorg’s buy-and-build strategy.
- Flavours also saw significant consolidation due to fragmentation, with Nactarome (7 deals) and Turpaz (5 deals) particularly active.
- Cross-border M&A represented 65.2% of total deal volume, underlining acquisitive players’ focus on geographic expansion and portfolio diversification.
- Most activity was concentrated in Western Europe, but growth in Turkey, Portugal and the Nordics is expected to attract increasing deal flow going forward.
Mark Lynch, Partner at Oghma Partners, said: “The food and beverage industry is being reshaped by global economic forces and rapidly evolving consumer preferences, with health, sustainability, and transparency emerging as defining megatrends. In Western Europe, the ingredients market continues to expand steadily at around 1.0% annually, with high-growth categories such as protein (8.5%), cultures (7.4%) and botanicals (7.3%) closely aligned to current consumer demands. The market remains highly fragmented: while multinational leaders generate revenues in excess of €50 billion, most pure-play value-added ingredient players remain below €10 billion, creating a dynamic landscape where smaller innovators and start-ups are winning market share with sustainable and differentiated offerings. This fragmentation has underpinned consistently strong deal activity, with 2025 on track to be a record year, driven by demand for innovative assets, geographic diversification, and sustainable operations.
“Cross-border M&A continues to dominate, accounting for 65.2% of transactions, with the UK, Spain, and France among the most attractive geographies. Distribution, blends, and additives remain the most active subcategories. Trading multiples have now steadied at an average EV/EBITDA of 14.1x, reflecting more balanced market conditions.
“Private equity continues to play a pivotal role, representing over 40% of deal volume since 2020, with activity rebounding as financing costs ease. Oghma has identified around 40 acquisitive PE players active in the European ingredients space. Carve-out transactions are also becoming increasingly important as multinationals streamline portfolios and align with consumer trends, accounting for 18.5% of deals and creating opportunities for mid-market players. Oghma itself has successfully completed five carve-out transactions for large multinational ingredients companies during this period.”
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