Pfeifer & Langen: The sweet years are over - How Chio chips and Ültje save a sugar dynasty through the crisis
"White gold" made Pfeifer & Langen big. But the sugar business is in crisis. Salty snacks now bring in three times more sales. Exclusive insights into a secretive family business.
Pfeifer & Langen, a 156-year-old German sugar manufacturer, is facing a crisis in the sugar industry, according to its CEO Michael Schaupp. The company, valued at €2.6 billion, has seen its profits decline due to low sugar prices, increased costs, and free imports. Despite this, Pfeifer & Langen has diversified its business, with its snack division, Intersnack, now three times larger than its sugar business, and has made a $2.9 billion deal to acquire part of US snack maker Utz Brands.
The company's revenue was €6.5 billion in 2025, with its sugar business no longer the largest contributor.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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