The Ella Mills-owned business has been snapped up by Fleury Michon after several turbulent years.
The plant-based firm will join the French business founded in 1905 by brother-in-law, Félix Fleury and Lucien Michon. The manufacturer serves five main markets: charcuterie, ready meals, surimi and chilled appetizers.
Allplants, set up by Jonathan Petrides in 2016, has had a tough few years, with the business entering administration in 2024. It wasn’t alone, with several other alternative meat companies either folding or being quickly rescued by bigger players.
While some suggested the bleak plant-based landscape to be a result of UPF propaganda, other analysts pointed to a natural consolidation following a boom of new businesses.
Laying off 65 members of staff in 2024, Allplants was among the firms saved, with Lord Sainsbury’s great-granddaughter, Ella Mills, swooping in. The deal included the Allplants brand name and assets.
Mills and her husband, Matt, sold Deliciously Ella to the Swiss Hero Group in September 2024 but retained ownership of the Plants brand. The acquisition of Allplants saw the duo bring this brand into the fold, with the ambition of creating “a new, natural, plant-based powerhouse”.
The product recipes did not form part of this deal, with Grubby snapping up the IP instead. This enabled Grubby to buy the exclusive rights to the recipes and manufacturing methods for the entire Allplants product range the following month.
Advised by CMS once again, which supported with the sale of Deliciously Ella in 2024, the Mills family have now divested the Allplants business.
Matt Mills, group CEO, said: “After our sale in 2024, it was great to get the CMS team back together to work on this latest sale for Ella and me.
“This was a compressed timetable, and David and Carys worked tirelessly to get the transaction over the line. We are now looking forward to growing our soup manufacturing business, distribution operation, and media business and seeing where that journey takes us next.”
David Roberts, partner and head of leisure at CMS UK, added: “It is fantastic to see Matt and Ella’s entrepreneurial spirit deliver once again. They have a real knack for developing the right brands and food offerings at the right time, and it has been a huge pleasure to see them grow and exit two businesses.
“I have a sneaking suspicion this won’t be the last.”
