Hero Group believes it can improve The Gut Stuff’s presence in the UK snacks market and will start to take the business overseas after buying the fledgling, gut-health brand.
London-based The Gut Stuff, set up in 2017, sells high-fibre snacks and drinks in the UK. Stockists include Tesco and The Co-op.
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Hero, the Swiss group that is home to brands including Deliciously Ella and Organix, has paid an undisclosed sum for the business. Sisters Alana and Lisa MacFarlane, The Gut Stuff’s co-founders, will continue to lead the business, Hero Group said.
A Hero Group spokesperson said the company’s “experience in high-quality snack products” will bolster The Gut Stuff’s growth prospects. The new owner declined to disclose its new asset’s current sales.
“Hero has the resources to help the company develop faster through the experience we have in the UK market with various players,” the spokesperson said.
“For the time being, we are focusing on the UK snacking market, one of the largest in Europe and we will then explore options to expand further. There is lots of room to build distribution in the UK grocery channel and beyond. This is our focus.”
Speaking to Just Food in October, Lisa MacFarlane said The Gut Stuff had seen “nearly 100% growth over the last year”. She added: “That growth is mainly in retail and I think that’s a combination of organic growth and brand awareness, as well as performing well in those retailers and getting increased distribution.”
So far, The Gut Stuff has focused its efforts on the UK but the Hero spokesperson indicated an entry into an overseas retailer is on the horizon.
“We have a launch in a supermarket chain outside the UK in June and Hero is now starting to explore other opportunities,” the spokesperson said.
As well as selling branded food and drink products, The Gut Stuff also works with companies on educating their staff on gut health. Clients have included Accenture and Aegon. The business also has a media arm that has made TV shows and published books on gut health.
Hero plans to retain “the whole ecosystem”, the spokesperson said. “Hero recognised that the content, community, education and products all work together as one flywheel, and that it’s significantly stronger with all its parts intact. That’s always been our model: build the brand and the audience first, then let the products follow.”
The deal for The Gut Stuff is the first acquisition Hero Group has made since promoting chief business officer Christian Schierbaum to the position of CEO last year.
In 2024, Hero Group acquired UK-based healthy food brand Deliciously Ella.
That year, the company also consolidated its jam production in Spain and offloaded production sites in Switzerland and Sweden. It also sold its Nordic gluten-free business to Dr. Schär.
In 2025, Hero Group generated net sales of SFr1.19bn ($1.51bn), down slightly on SFr1.2bn a year earlier. On an organic basis, net sales increased 2.2%.
EBIT jumped 30.3% to SFr71.3m. Net income grew 28.8% to SFr47m.
