Planteneers and SternMaid America Join Forces as a United SternMaid America Team

AURORA, Ill., Feb. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- To better meet the needs of the North American market, Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, based out of Hamburg, Germany, has rebranded its United States teams to further expand the ingredient portfolio offerings to our food and beverage partners. The reorganization of our team under the SternMaid America brand allows us to focus on finding the right solutions based on customer needs, whether it be plant-based meats, traditional milks and creams, baking premixes or a vitamin blend needed for food/beverage or supplements.

Going forward, our North American team – based out of Aurora, Illinois – will be known as SternMaid America, with divisions entitled SternMaid Contract Manufacturing Services and SternMaid Ingredients.

• Our SternMaid Contract Manufacturing Services team has operated in America for more than a decade, blending, tolling, and packaging dry ingredients for customers. This team's focus on blending, regulatory specifics, and customer satisfaction remain crucial to Stern-Wywiol Gruppe's mission of futuring food.
  
  
• Meanwhile, our traditionally known Planteneers' team will be moving forward as the SternMaid Ingredients team. SternMaid Ingredients employees will focus on selling a multitude of Stern-Wywiol Gruppe portfolio ingredients from a variety of brands that align with market needs. Among the main brands represented by this newly rebranded team are: Planteneers, Hydrosol, SternVitamin, and DeutscheBack. This reorganization of the team's priorities was necessitated by the conversations discussed with our customers and their future innovation needs.

CEO of SternMaid America, Brian Walker, states, "The Stern-Wywiol Gruppe is a forward-looking, science-driven global food ingredient company dedicated to making food better, healthier, and more sustainable. This rebrand isn't just a change of name; it's a reaffirmation of our purpose to partner with our customers to create functional ingredient solutions that meet the needs of consumers in North America. The update aligns with our transformation over the past 12 months to expand into a broader range of food applications, investing in research and development, and strengthening our relevance to the market."

Our teams will still operate out of Aurora, Illinois, where SternMaid Contract Manufacturing Services has two blending & packing lines, as well as a quality assurance lab and a storage warehouse. Next door, the recently opened Planteneers laboratories will expand to include the testing, piloting, and customer planning for all SternMaid Ingredients brands and customers, allowing our teams to get into the kitchen and develop products using the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe expertly blended portfolios.

For updates on our brand, contract manufacturing, and ingredient solutions, please follow our LinkedIn account at: SternMaid America Linkedin

About Stern-Wywiol Gruppe: 
For over 45 years the independent, owner-managed Stern-Wywiol Gruppe has been among the most successful enterprises operating internationally in the world of Food and Feed Ingredients, with 14 specialist companies and 20 international affiliates. Each company has its own specific expertise. Its customers include food, feed and cosmetics manufacturers in 144 countries. The group employs 1,974 people worldwide - including over 150 R&D specialists working on innovative solutions in the in-house application laboratories.

SOURCE SternMaid Ingredients