Protein bar maker Grenade fell to a loss in 2024, according to its accounts at Companies House, as revenue corrected sharply downwards from a 2023 growth spurt.
Grenade fell from a pre-tax profit of £12.2m to a £238k loss after a “normalisation of demand” for the company’s Oreo tie-in products helped slash revenue by 13.6% in the year to 31 December 2024.
The company had seen a growth spurt in 2023 thanks in part to a well-timed release of its Oreo-branded protein bars in January that year. Revenues rose by 56.5% over the year to £93.2m.
But as demand slipped away, revenue fell back to £80.6m in 2024, and further supply issues in the second half cut the company’s protein shake revenue.
While income fell, the company’s cost of sales remained steady around £62m.The resulting squeeze cut gross margin by a third, from 33.6% to 22.3%, and sent Grenade into a pre-tax loss.
Grenade has been owned by Mondelez since early 2021, when the US snacking giant paid £200m for the then founder-led business.
Grenade has grown significantly since 2021, when it turned over £51.7m. Yet between 2021 and 2024 it made just £20.8m in bottom-line profit, equalivalent to 10.4% of the reported purchase price.
Grenade’s accounts, filed to Companies House under Grenade (UK) Ltd, also revealed a £7.6m dispute between the company and HMRC over the VAT treatment of some of its product lines.
“The outcome and financial implications are uncertain, and the subject of an appeal with HMRC,” the accounts read, “with timing dependent upon the outcome of similar cases between HMRC and other businesses.”
Further appeals might be possible, and the directors said it was “too early” to make a reliable estimate of any potential financial effects.
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