Anona focuses on growth with fitness bars

The Colditz-based nutritional product manufacturer Anona expects demand for fitness bars and nutritional supplements to increase over the next few years. "The market will continue to grow," said Co-Managing Director Matthias Dietzsch. The Colditz-based company wants to benefit from this and is aiming for consistent sales growth.

Anona officially opened the expansion of its Plant 2 on Friday. According to the company, 16 million euros were invested in the plant. A new 2500 square meter production area has been created. Anona operates three plants in the small town of Colditz in the district of Leipzig, where fitness, sports and lifestyle products as well as soft ice cream powder are produced.

Except for the soft ice cream, which is sold under the Anona brand, the company develops and produces exclusively for private labels. This means that the bars and powders can be found under other brand names on the shelves of supermarkets, drugstore chains or discounters. According to Anona, it supplies customers in 30 countries.

Anona does not provide exact figures on turnover, sales and profit. According to Co-Managing Director Wolfram Strauch, around 20,000 tons of powder are produced in Colditz every year. Last year, around 75 million bars were also produced.

The company was founded in 1826 as a grain mill in Colditz. Production of instant semolina and powders began in the 1960s, followed by soft ice cream in 1970. The company only just survived the end of the GDR; the number of employees fell from 120 to 30. In the 1990s, Anona began producing sports nutrition. The company now employs more than 600 people.