Spain’s Alimentos Sanygran Takes Over Nutrition & Santé’s Plant-Based Food Business
Spanish manufacturer Alimentos Sanygran has acquired the plant-based and organic business assets of Nutrition & Santé’s Iberia arm, including a factory and 60-odd employees.
Alimentos Sanygran, a Navarra-based manufacturer of meat-free products, has acquired the plant-based and organic assets of Nutrition & Santé Iberia.
The deal includes the latter’s production facility in Castellterçol and its Natursoy brand, with Sanygran also taking over the distribution of third-party brands in independent organic stores.
Moreover, around 60 employees will move to the new ownership, enabling Sanygran to expand its operational capacity and bolster its capabilities in the development, production and marketing of plant-based ingredients and finished goods.
A synergy in product portfolios
Partly owned by Spanish snack giant Grupo Apex, Sanygran was founded a decade ago and supplies meatless products to retailers, manufacturers, and foodservice operators nationwide.
As an ingredient manufacturer, it produces yellow pea protein concentrates and starches, as well as a wide variety of plant-based meat products through dry or high-humidity extrusion – these include chunks, mince, strips, and pulled meat across a range of species.
It also supplies finished products like veggie burgers, nuggets, hummus, tofu, seitan, and croquettes, which are sold under its consumer brands Legumeat (legume-based meats), Gozo (whole-food burgers), and Obrador Sorribas (vegetarian meat alternatives and plant protein products).
Nutrition & Santé is owned by Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical and has been around for over half a century. It operates across several nutrition verticals via consumer-facing brands such as Céréal Bio, Soy, Gerblé, Gerlinéa, and Natursoy.
The latter, which is being transferred to Sanygran as part of the acquisition, sells traditional plant proteins such as tofu, tempeh and seitan, as well as meat-mimicking alternatives, non-dairy milks, pantry staples, and whole-food plant-based products.
Nutrition & Santé’s turnover for 2025 totalled €428M ($489.3M), 18% of which came from meat-free products. The Iberian arm, covering Spain and Portugal, accounted for a fifth of its revenue last year, while France made up the majority with 60%.
Alimentos Sanygran bets on consolidation to establish sector leadership
The deal comes following a 7.7% increase in sales of plant-based food in Spain last year, with sharp hikes seen in the non-dairy milk (+5.5%) and yoghurt (+26.7%) categories. That said, meat alternatives saw sales dip by 6.3% in 2025.
This comes as 80% of Spaniards say they’re cutting back on meat or are open to that change, according to a 2025 survey commissioned by the Federation of Consumers and Users (CECU). That’s despite 39% of respondents increasing their protein intake over the preceding year, with 35% doing so through plant-based food.
Sanygran said its takeover of some of Nutrition & Santé’s assets is part of its growth and development roadmap to respond to growing demand for healthy, sustainable food innovations and to reinforce its role as an industrial partner for food businesses.
”With this addition, the company advances its strategy of industrial consolidation and positioning across the entire value chain, aiming to lead Spain’s plant protein sector by integrating new capabilities that complement its existing technological and production platform,” the company said.
It is the latest example of consolidation in the alternative protein sector. Since September 2024, over 80 companies have been acquired, merged, fallen into insolvency, or shut down.
Over the last month alone, NotCo’s Argentinian and Uruguayan business, Bobeldijk Food Group, NovoNutrients, BettaF!sh, and Greenforce were all snapped up by other food industry players.