The Swiss multinational Nestlé has acquired the Catalan dietetics company Pronokal, specialized in weight control and loss solutions, from the Abac Capital fund. The purchase will strengthen Nestlé's nutritional products division, which markets brands such as Optifast, Bodymed, Meritene, and Resource, among others.
The Catalan brand, founded in 2004, belonged to the Abac Capital fund since 2017, when it acquired 90% of the shares for about 50 million euros. The remaining 10% remained in the hands of the company's founders, Joan Fondevila and Josep Maria Francés, and its CEO, Andreu Puig, former manager of the Barcelona City Council and former executive of the Agrolimen group. The purchase, made through Nestlé Health Science, would be around 100 million euros, according to the newspaper Expansión. The incorporation of Abac ---a fund created in Barcelona by Oriol Pinya, Borja Martínez de la Rosa, and Javier Rigau--- into its shareholding allowed Pronokal to intensify its international expansion and complete its digital transformation.
The dietetics firm, with a turnover of about 50 million euros according to the latest available data, is very present in Latin America, which generates more than a third of the business, and in Southern Europe, especially in Italy, where in 2018 it bought the Kalibra brand from the local company Società Dietetica Medica (SDM), also based on ketogenic diets.
Pronokal is a brand with 16 years of experience in the world of dietetics for weight loss based on food substitutes. Currently, it is present in more than 14 countries worldwide and has provided dietary advice to more than 600,000 people. It is a weight loss method, under medical supervision, based on a very low-calorie ketogenic diet and the personalized support of a multidisciplinary team made up of dietitians, coaching, and physical exercise.
In a statement, the CEO of Nestlé Health Science, Greg Behar, states that "Pronokal has become the right solution to avoid the discouragement and stress that some weight loss programs usually produce," therefore, it adds "a new dimension to our weight control portfolio and will allow us to help more people lead healthier lives."
For his part, Andreu Puig highlights that "Nestlé Health Science shares our commitment to providing healthy and effective nutritional solutions for weight loss. With Pronokal's scientifically proven system, and Nestlé Health Science's experience, we will maintain our strong growth and Pronokal will reach more people around the world."