The giant Bauer appears to have achieved a turnaround. Not only is the well-known fruit yogurt increasing in sales and revenue again, but the entire corporate group is. The family-owned company is now eying new markets.
The Bauer Group is targeting revenue of around 810 million euros this year. CEO Heiko Modell stated this in an interview with LZ. This would be about 65 million euros more than in 2024 and almost 150 million euros more than in 2021, when Modell began the transformation of the dairy and convenience foods group. The group has been profitable again since 2023.
The Bauer family hired the long-time Ehrmann board member to put the company back on a growth path. In 2022, Modell brought brand expert Tim Schwertner on board as Chief Commercial Officer, recruited private label specialist Christian Oppitz to the management team, and added managers such as Godo Röben, formerly of Rügenwalder Mühle, and Guido Engli, formerly of Mövenpick and Emmi, to the supervisory board.
Together, these managers fundamentally restructured the traditional company. Instead of focusing on five locations as before, they introduced four overarching business units. Schwertner: “Previously, we produced something and then figured out how to sell it.
Now we ask ourselves: What does the market need?”
As a result, Bauer returned to the path of success. By the end of 2024, the market share of the main product, Der Große Bauer, increased by one percentage point in the highly competitive fruit yogurt market.
Bauer now wants to continue developing with health-focused products. “In our 2030 strategy, we defined four new growth areas that go beyond our traditional business,” says Schwertner. However, the right technology first needs to be implemented in the production facilities, says Modell: “We will be investing a high double-digit million sum annually in the coming years.”
The existing business areas such as fruit yogurt, indulgent products, and protein products will remain important. Cheese is set to play a larger role again. “We will always be a dairy processing company,” Modell emphasizes.
Bauer is also looking for further growth abroad. Currently, international business accounts for more than 20 percent of revenue. “Our target is clearly above 30 percent,” says Schwertner. He wants to expand the business in the Near and Far East.
CEO Heiko Modell and Head of Sales Tim Schwertner discuss the family company’s turnaround, new growth markets, and innovations beyond traditional dairy products.
Mr. Modell, until now you declined our interview requests, saying you were still in the middle of restructuring. Are you finished now?
Heiko Modell: No, and we never will be. It’s an ongoing process. But over the past years, we’ve fundamentally restructured and repositioned the company.
Was it worth the wait?
Modell: Absolutely. When I started here in 2018, the numbers were going in the wrong direction. Our revenue dropped from around 700 to 665 million euros by 2021. We had to act. We did, and it paid off. By 2024, revenue had risen to 744 million euros. For this year, we've got our sights set on 810 million.
Tim Schwertner: Sales volumes have also increased significantly in recent years, and since 2023, we’ve been back in the black. So clearly, something worked.
How did you manage this turnaround?
Modell: I came in with the mandate to further develop the family business. I started by getting an overview. In 2020, we began the renewal process, and in 2021 we changed the structures. We now have a shareholders’ committee in which the Bauer family is represented, led by Ulrich Bauer. His sons Markus and Florian joined the supervisory board as chairs in 2021. Management now consists of four external managers: myself as CEO, Tim Schwertner as CCO, Florian Kellner as CFO, and Michael Janker as COO.
The Strategic Marketer
Tim Schwertner has been Chief Commercial Officer at the Bauer Group since 2022, responsible for sales and marketing. Together with Heiko Modell, the 55-year-old continues to develop business units and introduces innovations. Born in Bochum, he studied economics in his hometown and served as project manager for market research at Rewe from 1998 to 2001. He then spent eleven years at Dr. Oetker, first as head of category management and later as head of sales in the food service sector.
In 2012, he became managing director of Bad Heilbrunner, a Bavarian producer of teas and natural remedies. In 2017, he moved to French manufacturer Andros as head of Germany, known for brands like Bonne Maman and Natreen. Schwertner is married with three children and lives in Rimsting on Lake Chiemsee, near Bauer’s headquarters. In his free time, he plays handball.
That sounds more like organizational reform. What did you change operationally?
Modell: We moved away from site-centered thinking to greater market and customer focus. Previously, we had five separate companies under the group umbrella, each with its own plant and structures. That was inefficient.
Schwertner: Also, we were too inward-looking. We’d make something and then figure out how to sell it. Now we ask ourselves: What does the market need?” Then we think about what we can do to meet that demand.
How has this change affected day-to-day operations?
Modell: Now we have four business units across the group - for brand, private label, co-packing, and food service. They can access all four locations. Schwertner: These business units focus on their specific markets, talk to retailers and customers, drive innovation, and manage their ranges and brands. The relaunch of our yogurt “Der Große Bauer,” for example, went really well.
In what way?
Schwertner: We refreshed the design and introduced many new varieties. We increased both revenue and reach, and last year, we were named a top brand by LZ. That’s a substantial endorsement of our work.
How did you achieve that?
Schwertner: The sales team analyzed where the distribution gaps were. For example, we had been underrepresented in discount retail in the past. But that’s very important to us - and as a brand, we want to be present everywhere.
Modell: Separately from sales, we’ve also pushed cost management in the plants.
How much focus is there on Der Große Bauer as your core product?
Schwertner: We’re now generating more volume and revenue across the entire group. Because we’re actively managing our entire brand portfolio, including the Mövenpick indulgent line and Layenberger protein products.
Modell: At the same time, we’ve discontinued products with less attractive margins. We divested from three operations: one mushroom production and sales business, and one fresh service focused on gastronomy.
"We used to produce something and then see how we could sell it. Now we ask ourselves: What does the market need?"
Tim Schwertner, CCO Bauer Group
The Coordinator
Heiko Modell has been CEO of the Bauer Group since 2021 and is considered a pragmatic coordinator. A trained dairy specialist, he has made it his mission to return the family business to growing revenue and profits. He was born and raised in Elsdorf, Lower Saxony, the site of one of the group’s companies. His career has focused on the practical operation of dairies. From 1998 to 2002, he was plant manager at Heideblume Dairy in his hometown. In 2003, he moved to the Hainichen-Freiberg dairy in Saxony in the same role. From 2007 to 2018, he served on the board of Ehrmann, responsible for production and engineering. The 62-year-old is married, has one child, and lives near Memmingen, close to his former employer Ehrmann. A fan of Werder Bremen, he enjoys cycling, hiking, and playing golf.
How did the owning family respond to all these changes?
Modell: We always involved the Bauer family. We presented and explained every decision to them. These were then discussed and supported by the family. That trust has always been there—and still is. I’d like to thank the Bauer family for that. We are and remain a family business.
And how did the employees react?
Modell: If you want to make changes like this, you need to bring people along. After all, we fundamentally changed some well-known processes and structures. Some employees were uncertain. Most came with us on this journey in the end, but not all.
Were there many resignations?
Modell: No, our workforce remains steady at 1,500. The cases mentioned were more isolated management-level departures. If someone has been doing things a certain way for 20 years, it can be hard to switch direction.
Schwertner: It’s different now. We promote agility and personal responsibility. We delegate many decisions to the teams and don’t want everything to go through multiple hierarchy levels - we want to act quickly and pragmatically.
Is that speed an advantage of being a family business?
Modell: Yes, it sets us apart from corporations. Decision-making paths are shorter.
Schwertner: That also makes us attractive to new managers. Our new head of IT, for example, previously worked at a large international corporation but didn’t like the corporate structures and wanted to return to a privately owned mid-sized company. Now he’s managing a huge IT project with us: migrating all sites to SAP S/4HANA.
How did you generally recruit suitable new managers?
Modell: In 2021, we were still missing a managing director responsible for sales and marketing. We found that role through a recruiting agency with Tim Schwertner. We quickly reached an agreement, as we were a good fit professionally and personally. And when I heard that Christian Oppitz was available, I called him immediately. We met for a face-to-face conversation, and three weeks later, the contract was signed. Today, Christian Oppitz is managing director in Elsdorf alongside me and is responsible for the private label business unit.
Schwertner: Godo Röben, whom you know from Rügenwalder Mühle, is now on our supervisory board, as is Guido Egli, who previously worked at Mövenpick and Emmi. My long-time colleague Mirco Bastiani will now give us a fresh boost as the new head of marketing for private labels. And for product development, we brought in Christian Trgo, who was responsible for development at Danone and Arla.
One might assume you’re planning to develop further in the direction of health products.
Schwertner: Yes, something along those lines is to be expected from us. This year, we plan to launch a few things on the market that continue existing trends in organic, protein, and plant-based segments. But in our Strategy 2030, we have defined four new growth areas that go beyond our traditional business.
Big with Yogurt
The Bauer Group is a Bavarian family-owned company from Wasserburg am Inn, projected to generate around 810 million euros in revenue this year. Its most well-known product is the yogurt “Der Große Bauer.” Other brands include Mövenpick for premium yogurt and Layenberger for protein products. Yogurt, quark, and desserts make up around 65 percent of revenue. Salads and other foodservice products account for 10 percent, as do milk and drinks. Cheese represents 7 percent. About 60 percent of revenue comes from private label products, and 40 percent from brands.
Internationally, the group mainly operates with private label and co-manufacturing—e.g., production for other manufacturers. International business currently accounts for about 20 percent of revenue, but this share is expected to grow significantly beyond 30 percent. In addition to Molkerei Bauer, the group includes Elsdorfer, Märker, Immergut, and Frikoni. The owner family is represented in the shareholders’ committee: Ulrich Bauer senior, his daughter Stefanie Jones, and his sons Markus and Florian Bauer. The sons also chair the supervisory board, which includes industry figures such as Godo Röben (formerly Rügenwalder Mühle) and Guido Engli (formerly Mövenpick, Emmi).
What are these new growth areas?
Modell: We’re not ready to disclose that yet. But it’s clear we first need to bring the right technology into our plants. We’re investing a high double-digit million amount each year over the next few years.
Are you only looking for growth beyond your current business?
Modell: Not only that. Yes, we’ve mapped out four new growth areas – but our core categories still remain. Fruit yogurts, premium treats, protein products, and organic goods continue to play a vital role.
As exciting as it is to work with modern technologies, we will always be a dairy-processing company. That message also matters to our farmers, who supply us with milk.
And how do you come up with your new ideas?
Modell: We’ve introduced group-wide innovation management. We meet regularly with managers from development, sales, and the production facilities. This digital process is also supported by initial AI-based approaches.
Schwertner: That’s made us faster too. It used to take six to nine months from idea to shelf placement - now we manage it in four months. Brands and private labels are treated equally in this process.
What do innovations bring you?
Modell: They take our conversations with retailers to a whole new level. We discuss ideas with our clients, not just prices.
Aren’t retailers currently focusing more on price than on new products?
Schwertner: They do respond to price-sensitive consumers, and those discussions are challenging. They are focused on promotions. That’s why the promotion share for Der Große Bauer is now slightly above 60 percent, which is comparable to other market leaders. From our perspective, that level isn’t necessary, but the retailers want it that way.
How could the industry move away from such high promotional volumes?
Schwertner: As long as uncertainty persists, that’s not likely to change. Retail headquarters are wired to control everything through pricing.
What about you? Don’t you think consumers are price-sensitive?
Schwertner: I’m not sure that isn’t being exaggerated.
And what about Der Große Bauer?
Schwertner: We really wouldn’t risk crossing the 1-euro mark on the recommended retail price.
You’ve revamped production. What about marketing?
Schwertner: We’re becoming more digital. We want to appeal to new, younger consumers, and we find them primarily through digital channels. This year, for example, we’re appearing as a group for the second time at the OMR Festival, the major digital marketing trade show in Hamburg. All the big influencers are there, and we can make many valuable contacts.
"Innovations take our discussions with retailers to a whole new level. We talk to our customers about ideas and not just about prices."
Heiko Modell, CEO Bauer Group
Is your salad production still in line with that direction?
Modell: Yes, very much so. We plan to continue expanding it. It’s another strategic pillar in the freshness segment.
Are you aiming for growth abroad as well?
Schwertner: Yes, that’s clearly our strategy. Already, our international business accounts for more than 20 percent of revenue. Our goal is significantly more than 30 percent.
Which countries are you targeting?
Schwertner: Our strongest world regions currently are Europe and the Near and Far East. The key markets are core European countries and Southeast Asia. We want to expand significantly in the Near and Far East, which is why we are exploring opening sales offices in those regions.
Are acquisitions an option?
Modell: Yes. But we’re not ready to say more about that today.
How important is sustainability in all this? Is it still a topic?
Modell: We’re quite far along, but moving forward with caution. We don’t know what new requirements legislators will impose next. That’s hard to predict these days. For example, the debate on recycled packaging at the EU level is lacking direction. Companies that move too quickly can easily lose millions.
What about animal welfare?
Schwertner: It’s similar. If you want more animal welfare, you need agreement throughout the supply chain on who will fund it. You quickly reach limits there.
Modell: Regardless, we’ll face milk volume declines in Germany due to higher animal welfare standards, the re-wetting of moorlands, and the phaseout of tethered cow housing.
But couldn’t it also be an advantage to boost your brands with a more sustainable type of milk – like haymilk or organic? Would that be a possible approach?
Schwertner: Yes, we’re currently exploring how to strengthen regional concepts within the Bauer Group.
We haven’t talked about cheese yet. How important is that category for you?
Schwertner: It’s our heart and soul – the company started with it. In recent years, it’s faded into the background a bit because we first focused on areas needing urgent action.
Modell: But this year, we’ve made it our mission to further develop the cheese segment. We aim to bring the first innovations to market by the end of the year.
Mr. Modell, your strategy runs through 2030. Where should the company be by then?
Modell: I’m now 62, and over the next three years, I will be positioning this family business to be on a steady course, more successful, more international – and with one more strategic growth area firmly in place.
Interview conducted by Mathias
Himberg and Dirk Lenders.
Source:
Lebensmittelzeitung 02/2025
https://www.lebensmittelzeitung.net/industrie/nachrichten/joghurtspezialist-bauer-nach-umbau-auf-wachstumskurs-182729
