Veganz

Veganz is a German plant-based food brand and former vegan supermarket operator founded by Jan Bredack and Juliane Kindler. The company began in Berlin in 2011 with the aim of making vegan grocery shopping easier by bringing a broad range of exclusively vegan products together in dedicated stores. Its first location opened in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district, and the retail concept expanded to several German cities as well as franchise operations in other European markets. At its height, the chain offered thousands of products, including meat and fish alternatives, plant-based milk, vegan cheese, desserts, confectionery, bakery goods, cosmetics and companion-animal food. Veganz's early retail model faced increasing pressure as conventional supermarkets, drugstores and wholesalers began adding their own vegan ranges. The company itself helped accelerate this market development through wholesale distribution to retailers such as Edeka, Rewe, Metro, dm and Rossmann. As the specialist-store model became less distinctive and the stores generated substantial losses, the retail subsidiary Veganz Retail GmbH entered self-administered insolvency proceedings in 2016. The parent company was not subject to that filing. Most of the remaining stores subsequently closed, while the business shifted toward branded manufacturing and wholesale. The company launched its own branded product range in 2015, initially with several dozen products and later with a substantially broader portfolio. In this phase Veganz concentrated on developing, sourcing and distributing plant-based products for mainstream retail rather than operating a large store network. By 2021, its products were reported as being available in thousands of retail locations across numerous countries. The portfolio included confectionery, snacks, baked goods, protein products, meat alternatives, vegan cheese and seafood substitutes. Veganz was reorganized as Veganz Group AG and entered the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's Scale segment in November 2021. The listing aimed to support expanded production capacity and the development of proprietary food technology. Some planned manufacturing investments were later abandoned or reconsidered due to rising projected costs. The group continued to face losses and subsequently experienced financial pressure, including restructuring of a bond due in 2025. During the 2020s, the business expanded beyond the traditional Veganz food brand. It developed Mililk, a technology for producing plant-based milk and beverages through two-dimensional food printing, and operated or developed other brands and technology businesses including Happy Cheeze, Peas on Earth and OrbiFarm. In 2025, the operating divisions were spun off into separate subsidiaries and Veganz Group AG was renamed Planethic Group AG. The Veganz name nevertheless remained associated with the group's consumer food products, particularly confectionery, snacks, baked goods and protein-oriented products. Veganz's market positioning combines vegan accessibility with claims around sustainability, animal welfare and product innovation. Its historical significance lies partly in helping to establish vegan retailing and branded plant-based food in Germany, while its later history illustrates the shift from specialist vegan stores toward mainstream distribution and food technology. The group also faced governance, financing and leadership controversies that made its corporate development more complex than the consumer brand alone would suggest.

Veganz was established in Germany by Jan Bredack and Juliane Kindler as a response to the difficulty of finding a broad selection of vegan groceries in one place. The first store opened in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood in February 2011. Rather than functioning as a small health-food shop, it attempted to provide a full supermarket assortment devoted exclusively to vegan products. Early customer demand encouraged expansion, and the concept reached several German cities, with franchise outlets also appearing in Vienna and Prague. The stores carried products from many countries and categories. Their assortment included plant-based milk and cream, vegan cheeses, meat and fish substitutes, desserts, ice cream, bread, pastries, sweets, chocolate, pet food, cosmetics and toiletries. The chain reportedly offered thousands of products and maintained a high proportion of organic goods. At the same time, Veganz developed a wholesale business, supplying vegan products to established supermarkets, drugstores and cash-and-carry operators. This distribution activity helped make plant-based products more widely available but also contributed to the weakening of the specialist-store advantage: conventional retailers increasingly created their own vegan shelves and ranges. In 2015, Veganz began selling products under its own brand. This marked a strategic step away from being primarily a retailer and toward becoming a branded food company. The company expanded the range from an initial group of products to a much larger portfolio and increasingly relied on retail partners rather than company-operated stores. The retail subsidiary Veganz Retail GmbH filed for self-administered insolvency in December 2016. Management argued that the pure vegan supermarket format was no longer commercially sustainable as mainstream retailers broadened their offerings. The parent company remained outside the insolvency filing, enabling the brand and wholesale operations to continue. During the following years, Veganz concentrated on product development, sourcing, manufacturing partnerships and distribution. The corporate structure was reorganized as Veganz Group AG, and the company used debt financing before pursuing a public listing. In November 2021, Veganz Group AG was admitted to the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The listing was presented as a way to fund production capacity and growth in the plant-based food market. Plans for a new facility in Werder were later abandoned after projected construction costs rose. The company continued to add specialized products. Its portfolio included confectionery, protein products, vegan cheese, meat alternatives and seafood alternatives. A cashew-based product called The Gourmet received a PETA vegan food award in 2020. In 2022, Veganz expanded its seaweed-based smoked-salmon alternative through a production facility in Neubrandenburg. The group also developed food-technology activities, most notably Mililk, a two-dimensional printing process intended to produce plant-based milk and related beverages. Other activities included the Happy Cheeze and Peas on Earth brands and OrbiFarm, an indoor-farming technology business developed using systems licensed from the Fraunhofer Institute. Financial pressure remained a recurring feature of the group's history. Veganz did not establish a record of sustained annual profitability, and the company had to negotiate an extension of a bond scheduled to mature in 2025. Its later restructuring sought to separate consumer brands and technology businesses into standalone subsidiaries. In 2025, shareholders approved the spin-off of Mililk Food Tech, Happy Cheeze, Peas on Earth and Veganz's Peas on Earth-related operations, among others, and the listed parent was renamed Planethic Group AG. The restructuring was accompanied by significant governance and leadership controversy. Jan Bredack left the chief executive position in September 2025 and moved into a managing-director role at OrbiFarm after that business had been sold. Rayan Tegtmeier served briefly as chief executive before leaving in November, after which Sascha Voigt became chief executive. Voigt's earlier connection with a technology seller acquired by the group created additional scrutiny because he had held a supervisory-board position and was associated with the selling entity. Separately, the company faced litigation in the United States from Vitiprints over food-printing technology; the dispute was followed by a new licensing arrangement. Today, Veganz is best understood as a consumer-facing plant-based brand within the broader Planethic corporate structure, rather than solely as the vegan supermarket chain that first made its name. Its products are distributed primarily through retail and wholesale partners in German-speaking markets and other European countries, while the group has pursued technology-led opportunities in plant-based beverages and food production.

• 2025

  Operating divisions spun off and company renamed Planethic Group AG

  [1]Veganzen.wikipedia.org

  The group separated several food and technology businesses into subsidiaries and changed its corporate name.

• 2024

  Bond maturity restructuring approved

  [1]Veganzen.wikipedia.org

  Bondholders approved an extension of the company's 2020 bond maturity and related changes to interest payments.

• 2022

  Seaweed-based smoked-salmon facility opens

  [1]Veganzen.wikipedia.org

  The company expanded production of its plant-based smoked-salmon alternative at a facility in Neubrandenburg.

• 2021

  Frankfurt Stock Exchange listing

  [1]Veganzen.wikipedia.org

  Veganz Group AG began trading in the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

• 2020

  The Gourmet receives a PETA vegan food award

  [1]Veganzen.wikipedia.org

  Veganz's cashew-based cheese alternative The Gourmet received recognition in PETA's vegan food awards.

• 2019

  Corporate restructuring as Veganz Group AG

  [1]Veganzen.wikipedia.org

  The group adopted a public-company structure and focused more strongly on branded products and plant-based manufacturing.

• 2016

  Retail subsidiary enters insolvency proceedings

  [1]Veganzen.wikipedia.org

  Veganz Retail GmbH filed for self-administered insolvency as dedicated vegan stores lost ground to mainstream retailers.

• 2015

  Own-brand product range launched

  [1]Veganzen.wikipedia.org

  Veganz began introducing branded vegan products, laying the foundation for its later manufacturing and wholesale strategy.

• 2011

  First Veganz supermarket opens in Berlin

  [1]Veganzen.wikipedia.org

  The first store opened in Prenzlauer Berg, establishing Veganz as a dedicated vegan supermarket concept.

Accessible but innovation-led vegan and plant-based food, with emphasis on animal-free products, sustainability and mainstream retail distribution.

• Confectionery · 2015

  Veganz confectionery and chocolate

  The core Veganz consumer range includes vegan chocolate, sweets and other confectionery. These products extend the brand beyond meat substitutes and make it visible in everyday snack and impulse-purchase categories.

• Plant-based protein · 2015

  Veganz meat and protein alternatives

  Veganz has offered plant-based products designed to replace conventional meat, including protein-focused foods and meat-style formats such as meatballs. The products are distributed through retail and wholesale partners rather than relying primarily on dedicated Veganz stores.

• Vegan cheese

  The Gourmet

  The Gourmet is a cashew-based vegan cheese alternative associated with Veganz's premium and fermented-food activity. The product received a PETA vegan food award in 2020.

• Plant-based seafood · 2022

  Seaweed-based smoked-salmon alternative

  Veganz developed a smoked-salmon substitute based on Atlantic seaweed. The company opened a dedicated production facility in Neubrandenburg in 2022 to support this product area.

• Food technology and plant-based beverages

  Mililk

  Mililk is a food-technology platform for producing plant-based milk and beverages through two-dimensional food printing. It became a separate operating business during the group's 2025 restructuring.

• Vegan cheese

  Happy Cheeze

  Happy Cheeze is a brand built around fermented and cashew-based vegan cheese products. It was among the operating divisions separated from the listed parent during the 2025 restructuring.

• Plant-based protein

  Peas on Earth

  Peas on Earth focuses on pea-protein-based meat and fish alternatives. The brand formed part of the group's move toward specialized plant-based protein platforms.

• 2025

  Related-party technology acquisition

  The group acquired IP Innovation Partners Technology GmbH from an entity associated with Sascha Voigt, who was then a major shareholder and deputy supervisory-board chairman and later became chief executive. The transaction prompted scrutiny regarding related-party governance and independence.

  Source

• 2025

  Rapid succession of chief executives

  The company changed chief executives three times in approximately eight weeks during a broader period of corporate restructuring and governance controversy.

  Source

• 2024

  Vitiprints trade-secret lawsuit

  Vitiprints LLC sued Veganz Group AG in a US federal court, alleging that the company misappropriated trade secrets connected with two-dimensional food-printing technology after a licensing relationship ended. The parties later signed a new global licensing agreement.

  Source

Read more

• 2025

  Separate consumer brands and food-technology operationsStrategy

  Background

  The group sought to distinguish its consumer-food activities from technology and specialist operating businesses.

  Action taken

  Shareholders approved the spin-off of Mililk Food Tech, Happy Cheeze, Peas on Earth and other operating divisions, followed by the renaming of Veganz Group AG as Planethic Group AG.

  Aftermath

  Veganz continued as a consumer-facing brand within a broader group structure.

  Source

• 2024

  Extend the 2020 bond maturityStrategy

  Background

  The company was unable to repay the bond at its original 2025 maturity under the existing timetable.

  Action taken

  Bondholders approved a five-year maturity extension and changes to interest-payment terms.

  Aftermath

  The restructuring provided additional time for the group to reorganize its businesses and financing.

  Source

• 2021

  Public listing on the Frankfurt Stock ExchangeOther

  Background

  Veganz sought external capital to expand plant-based production and develop new food technologies.

  Action taken

  Veganz Group AG listed in the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

  Aftermath

  The company remained publicly traded while continuing to face investment requirements and profitability pressure.

  Source

• 2016

  Withdraw from the pure vegan supermarket modelStrategy

  Background

  Mainstream supermarkets and drugstores increasingly offered vegan products, reducing the differentiation of specialist vegan stores.

  Action taken

  Veganz allowed its retail subsidiary to enter self-administered insolvency proceedings and shifted strategic emphasis to branded products and wholesale distribution.

  Aftermath

  The store network contracted substantially, while the parent company continued operating as a branded plant-based food business.

  Source

• 2020.09.11

  Reported2020.09.11

  Veganz announces production at Berlin vegan cheese factory[3]Veganz 宣布柏林纯素奶酪工厂将投产vegnews.com

  Veganz announced that production at its new vegan cheese factory in Berlin would begin at the end of September 2020. The factory is dedicated to Veganz Cashewbert, and the company said it would be able to produce 10,000 wheels weekly once the factory opens.

Read more

1. 1Veganzen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Veganz official websiteveganz.com
3. 3Veganz 宣布柏林纯素奶酪工厂将投产vegnews.com