Hero Group acquires UK gut health brand The Gut Stuff

The Hero Group has acquired The Gut Stuff, the London-based gut health snacking and soft drinks brand founded by Scottish twins Lisa and Alana Macfarlane. Terms were not disclosed. The deal was announced on 22 April.

Founders Lisa and Alana Macfarlane will continue to lead the brand, and all employees of The Gut Stuff will remain with the company following the acquisition.

The Gut Stuff: media-led, fibre-first

The Gut Stuff operates at the intersection of media and product. The Macfarlane sisters are known to UK audiences through the six-part Channel 4 series Know Your Sh!t, as well as DJ and broadcast work with Virgin Radio and BBC Radio 1Xtra.

The brand has expanded beyond snacks into a wider consumer ecosystem, including a dedicated Gut Stuff app, a podcast, a gut health cookbook, and a growing portfolio of high-fibre snack bars and beverages — all built around the brand's gut health positioning.

Hero's expanding portfolio

Hero Group is owned by a branch of the Oetker family, best known for the Dr. Oetker brand, and has been steadily building out a wellness-focused portfolio. In 2024, it acquired Ella Mills' plant-based food brand Deliciously Ella. The Gut Stuff adds gut health and fibre-led snacking to that roster.

"The acquisition of The Gut Stuff is a fantastic opportunity for us to grow as a Group and play in a small but growing trend in Better Snacking around gut health and fibre," said Christian Schierbaum, CEO of Hero Group.

This is the perfect combination of a brand with strong positioning and connection to consumers coupled with Hero's experience and know-how in developing high-quality snacks.

Mita Sen, Chief Strategy Officer at Hero, framed the deal as a capability match. "This is the perfect combination of a brand with strong positioning and connection to consumers coupled with Hero's experience and know-how in developing high-quality snacks. Putting these capabilities together will result in faster growth and more impact with customers and consumers," said Sen.

What the founders say

"As founders, during the tough early days, you always dream of finding a home for what you've built. As soon as we met the team at Hero, we knew it was the place," said Lisa and Alana Macfarlane. "Being within Hero gives us the engine and resources to drive at breakneck speed to deliver all the ambitions we have for the company."

Being within Hero gives us the engine and resources to drive at breakneck speed to deliver all the ambitions we have for the company.

The Macfarlanes will remain at the helm as the brand scales under the Hero umbrella.