Five years ago, on April 30, 2018, Josep Ferrer Sala, the patriarch of Freixenet, planted an ash tree in the gardens of Schloss Johannisberg palace as a symbol of the alliance his family had just signed with the German group Henkell, which acquired 50% of the shares of the emblematic company based in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (Barcelona), leader in the cava sector.
A plaque with the names of José Ferrer and his wife, Glòria Ferrer, next to the ash tree ---an iconic tree for Freixenet, as the company's name derives from an estate known as La Freixeneda due to the abundance of ash trees--- commemorates the date the alliance was forged, an alliance that has brought full satisfaction to both parties after the first five years.
"The visit to Schloss Johannisberg was one of the last international trips my father made; he is now 97 years old," recalls his eldest son, Pedro Ferrer, co-CEO of the Henkell Freixenet group, as he strolls through the bucolic vineyards of what is considered the oldest Riesling wine cellar in the world. Located on the banks of the Rhine, this spectacular 50-hectare estate and the palace that presides over it is one of Henkell's crown jewels and is only 20 kilometers from the wine group's headquarters, located in the city of Wiesbaden, capital of the federal state of Hesse.
"The bad thing in a company is when the shareholders are not aligned. We get along very well with the Oetker family; the balance of this alliance is very positive. Being part of the Henkell group has given us a lot of stability and financial muscle during the pandemic," highlights Pedro Ferrer. Along the same lines, the co-CEO of Henkel Freixenet, Andreas Brokemper, assures that "both companies have been winners" of this corporate operation, as there was great geographical complementarity, although he admits that the Freixenet brand is much better known in the world than Henkell, so the German brand has also benefited.
Both leaders have made public their good understanding during a meeting with the press held this Tuesday at the Wiesbaden headquarters, where they also stated that they do not foresee ownership changes in the coming years. "In the medium term, the shareholding will remain stable, for sure," emphasizes Ferrer. "There are no reasons for change," points out Brokemper. 50% of Henkel Freixenet belongs to the German family group Geschwister Oetker and the other 50% is held by José Ferrer and his children (42.5%) and his nephew, José Luis Bonet (7.5%).
The wine company, world leader in sparkling wine production, closed the 2022 fiscal year with a net turnover (excluding taxes) of 1,181 million euros, a figure that represents an 8.5% growth compared to the 1,088 million in 2021, and marks a new historical record. Sales in America (+28.7%) have advanced especially and in Eastern Europe (+9.2%), although good growth of between 3% and 4% is also registered in the rest of Europe, while in Asia, the area with less weight, sales have remained unchanged.
With a total of 107 million bottles, the Freixenet brand generates 40% of the group's revenue, being the most relevant brand of the German-Spanish company. In order of relevance, the other most prominent brands of Henkell Freixenet are the Italian prosecco brand Mionetto ---the best-selling in the world---, the German sparkling wines (sekt) Henkell, the Alfred Gratien champagne, the Mangaroca coconut liqueur, and the Heart still wine brand.
The 107 million bottles sold last year under the Freixenet brand equal the 2021 record and include both cava production, as well as still wines and prosecco, the Italian sparkling wine with the highest international growth, of which Freixenet already bottles 14 million bottles in the wineries the group owns in Italy.
In total, Henkell Freixenet has wineries in nine European countries and also in California (United States) and Mexico, the latter two inherited from the Catalan company. It operates with its own subsidiaries in 33 countries, although its products are present in more than 150, with a global market share in value of 9.5%. Among the group's most immediate plans is the opening of a subsidiary in Uruguay, in line with the strong growth potential offered by the Latin American market. In addition to North America, with the United States at the forefront, Asia and Africa are also, according to Brokemper, two future markets for the group.
Brokemper and Ferrer assure that for now there are no plans to make acquisitions and that their strategy is to maximize organic growth. "In the past, both groups made many acquisitions; now we do not depend on new operations, we can live without purchases," explain the executives.
By categories, sparkling wine, of which it is the largest global producer, generates 66% of the turnover and is also one of the most dynamic segments, with an 11% increase in sales in 2022. This division includes cava, champagne, and high-end sekts that Henkell also produces using the traditional champennoise method or second fermentation in the bottle (10% of its production). In addition, this area includes the production of prosecco and the rest of the sparkling wines (90% of the total) produced by Henkell using the grand vas, charmant or cuvée close method, in which the second fermentation is not carried out in the bottle, but in a large stainless steel tank. In the sale of sparkling wines, Henkell Freixenet benefits from one of the fastest-growing global trends in the world, the rise of the spritz, with phenomena such as Aperol cocktails, which are made with prosecco and increasingly also with cava.
The group's second largest division is still wines, generating 22% of sales, a 2.6% increase in the last year. Finally, the spirits area contributes 11% of turnover and grew by 25.5% in 2022.
39 million investment
Pedro Ferrer and Andreas Brokemper assure that last year, Henkel Freixenet executed a record investment of 39 million euros, 50% more. The bulk of this figure, 30 million, has been allocated to the winery in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, where, on the one hand, a new line with the capacity to execute the disgorging process of 15,000 bottles of cava per hour has been installed. In parallel, investment has been made in the expansion works of the winery, which will allow increasing the aging area by 35 million bottles of cava. Another 9 million have been allocated to finish the new production area of the Minonetto winery in Italy, which has also opened a visitor center.
Henkel Freixenet has 3,500 employees, of whom 650 are in Germany.
The Oetker family, made up of eight siblings, decided in 2021 to divide their business group into two. The wine business, that is, Henkell Freixenet, has been included in the new Geschwister Oetker holding, whose ownership is shared by the three younger siblings of the German business saga: Alfred ---who holds the presidency of Henkell Freixenet---, Ferdinand and Julia Oetker. In addition to the wine company, this business group, which has established its headquarters in Frankfurt, owns a hotel chain, a chemical company (Budenheim) and a company of ingredients for the bakery and pastry sector (The Martin Braun Gruppe), with joint sales of more than 2,000 million. The other five Oetker siblings have kept the Dr. Oetker group, owner of the popular pizza company and also 25% of the Barcelona brewing group Damm, among many other businesses.
In Germany, Henkel Freixenet owns two wineries, one at its headquarters in Wiesbaden and the one located in the basement of the Schloss Johannisberg palace. These are two properties with a long history, where 130 million bottles and 250,000 bottles are produced annually, respectively. Originally founded in the city of Mainz, Henkell was the first German company to produce sparkling wine, in 1832. In 1909, it opened the Wiesbaden winery, where the group centralizes the production of sekt, of which Henkel is the second largest producer in the country. If Henkell's and Freixenet's products are combined, the group controls a 20% market share in Germany. Henkell's sparkling wines are produced in Wiesbaden with grapes grown in Germany itself, but also with base wines imported from Spain, Italy, and France.
In contrast, the production of Schloss Johannisberg comes entirely from the 50 hectares of vineyard planted exclusively with the riesling variety that surround the chateau, whose slopes reach the banks of the Rhine. The beauty of the surroundings attracts more than 150,000 visitors each year, who can enjoy the restaurant and a visit to the underground winery, founded by Benedictine monks in the 11th century. The winery's basement houses an unexpected treasure for visitors: an oenological library where more than 13,000 historical bottles are kept, allowing for the study and testing of the aging capacity and evolution of riesling wines over the years. The oldest bottle dates back to 1748.