Apheon Combines Millbio and Cain Foods to Build Global Clean-Label Bakery Platform

Private equity investor Apheon has acquired U.S.-based Cain Foods and will merge it with Millbio, its portfolio company, creating a global platform in clean-label bakery solutions.

Millbio, a European specialist in functional clean-label ingredients, and Cain, a manufacturer of natural preservation systems for industrial bakeries, will together form a vertically integrated group spanning the Americas, Europe and Asia. The combined business will leverage Millbio’s fermentation expertise and R&D capabilities alongside Cain’s manufacturing, logistics and client network in the Americas.

The enlarged group aims to strengthen its position as a preferred supplier to industrial bakeries seeking natural, clean-label solutions amid growing consumer demand and tightening regulatory requirements. Cain’s shareholders, including family owners and senior management, will reinvest in the new structure, while Apheon will retain control and support the group’s international expansion.

The transaction will effectively double Millbio’s size and broaden its reach, creating what Apheon describes as a “global champion” in natural bakery solutions.