BioTechUSA group produces 40% growth while launching major investments
Thanks to its crisis-proof measures, Hungarian-owned BioTechUSA group ended last year with an increase of more than HUF 20 billion. The revenues of one of Europe’s largest dietary supplement and special foodstuffs manufacturer and distributor amounted to HUF 80.4 billion with an EBITDA in excess of HUF 11.5 billion. The group boosted its portfolio with 300 new products, opening 17 new stores and launching its largest series of investments to date in 2022.
The mission of the BioTechUSA group is to motivate millions of users to live more active lifestyles with the use of its products and expertise. Currently, the group is active in 100 countries, with 50 webshops, 279 franchise stores, 1,800 employees and 4,500 partners. Apart from the BioTechUSA brand, the group has four other brands: the brand of gym fanatics, Scitec Nutrition (acquired in 2020); Hungary’s most popular dietary supplement webshop, Builder; ShakerStore, manufacturer of personalized shakers and VitaminShop, specializing in the distribution of vitamin supplements. The group offers 2,000 products, supporting the widest range of consumer goals from weight loss, boosting muscle mass or adopting healthier lifestyles. Its portfolio includes sugar- and lactose-free products as well products suitable for those living with gluten intolerance or following a vegan diet. Its newly-launched line of Apparel or sportswear is one of the group’s other key business lines.
Dynamically growing market
The market of dietary supplements and special foodstuffs is on the rise, growth at a rate of 8–10% annually as the consumer base of these products continues to increase. However, manufacturers and distributors were faced with a number of challenges in 2022, with raw material shortages, increased transportation and energy costs as well as exchange rate fluctuations and inflation. This had no impact on the BioTechUSA group’s B2C sales results (from sales made directly to consumers) because, after the pandemic, there were more customer visits to the stores than previously, and this was also combined with a steady growth trend in the turnover of webshops. Last year’s most popular products included protein powders and protein bars, while there was also great demand for pre-workout and amino acid products. The vitamin, collagen and joint-support categories also intensified, and the interest in lifestyle products is on the rise, too.
Continuous innovation to fend off challenges
The group responded aptly to the challenges posed by the industry, foreign politics and the economy, exceeding its results from 2021 by more than 40 percent. Multiple factors contributed to the growth: the group operated its self-owned production capacities in Dunakeszi and Szada as efficiently as possible and, thanks to its omni-channel strategy, it sold its products not only through its online platform, but also at the physical shops of its own network and those of its partners, as well as through gyms, supermarkets, grocery store chains, drugstores, service stations and pharmacies. Increasing raw material prices were optimized through various periodic promotions and individual discounts. In order to boost efficiency, the group established its own educational department, focusing on the training of in-store consultants. Apart from its outstanding financial results, BioTechUSA also launched its greatest series of investments to date. As part of the investments implemented through HUF 11.5 billion worth of funds, two new production lines suitable for the manufacturing of premium protein bars are set to be built in the near future at the production site in Szada, including the construction of the related warehouse and staff buildings. Following the installation of the fourth production line, the group’s annual production capacity will increase to 110 million bars, while the investment will create 100 new jobs. Additionally, a new raw material warehouse was also established in 2022, providing space for the storage of 5,000 more pallets.
Strengthening international position
2022 saw the strengthening of the group’s international position. The company retained its market-leading position in Greece, while also achieving record revenues in Norway and France. BioTechUSA also solidified its position in Spain, Italy and Portugal. Throughout sales activities, the emphasis was on the group’s self-owned channels: new stores were opened while sales and communication support was provided for its existing stores. New units were opened in France, Germany and Slovakia, which will be continued with further units opening in 2023. This year, the group plans to expand into the following countries: Columbia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Southeast Asia, China, India, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Thanks to these results, nearly 80 percent of the overall revenue originated from export, while the international network of stores produced a growth rate of 216 percent.
Dominating the market in Hungary for years
In 2022, the group expanded its range of partners in Hungary: the Ecofamily and Plus Market stores are both selling its products at 30 sites each, while it commenced its cooperation with CBA and resumed its collaboration with Lidl. It has entered into cooperation with a number of major gym networks, including Life1, Get Fit and M1. Its products have been introduced in the network of Benu pharmacies, initially at 35 premium pharmacies. Both Wolt and Foodora (formerly Foodpanda) food delivery services deliver its products from multiple locations within 1 hour.
No compromise in quality assurance
Ensuring consumer satisfaction is a key element of the company’s strategy. Accordingly, it continuously monitors quality with a staff of 32 professionals. They conduct over 100,000 in-house laboratory tests annually, with a total of 13 external and 17 internal audits. In 2022, all their sites operated in compliance with the same quality management and food safety systems—ISO 9001, ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, GMP, IFS Food and Halal.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been dealing with an even more rapidly changing environment than before, and we have been facing a number of further challenges ever since. However, in our case our long-term strategy is now bearing its fruit, which sets us apart from the competition. Even in more “peaceful” times, our group has cultivated a high level of professional compliance. Our fundamental approach is to make no compromise on quality. Not only do we comply with the prevailing regulations, we also observe additional, self-imposed rules”
said Bálint Lévai, CEO of BioTechUSA. The co-owner added:
Our partners and consumers all know that we are crisis-proof, so they readily choose our reliable brands in a crisis situation. Following the pandemic, we didn’t make the mistake of focusing solely on online sales. Instead, we conducted sales through all our platforms. We weren’t faced with raw material shortages in critical periods, because, thanks to our good partnership relations developed over the years, our partners offered to supply us with their existing capacities, and we were one of the handful of companies who could actually pay for the resources.”
Last year, the company continued seeking out opportunities to create added value and as part of its corporate social responsibility program it supported healthcare institutions and non-governmental organizations with donations in the order of HUF one hundred million.
The BioTechUSA group’s annual report is available in its entirety at the following link.