Avedon-backed Brand Masters Acquires Quest Personal Care Group, Creating €300M Platform

Brand Masters, a leading FMCG trading and brand development company headquartered in Breda, The Netherlands and backed by Avedon Capital Partners, has acquired Quest Personal Care Group, a Manchester-based developer of affordable beauty and personal care products. The acquisition creates a combined platform with revenues exceeding €300 million and a workforce of over 250 full-time employees across Europe and Asia.

Quest specializes in nine personal care and beauty product categories, supplying retailers and distributors in more than 60 countries. Known for its fast-paced innovation and agile product development, Quest offers affordable alternatives to established A-brands through a portfolio of challenger brands.

The transaction supports Brand Masters’ strategic objective to accelerate growth in its own label and licensed brand segment, BrandLab. This segment complements Brand Masters’ existing value-added distribution of well-known A-brands across food, drinks, home, and personal care products. By integrating Quest’s product innovation and geographic reach, Brand Masters strengthens its position as a full-service category partner, particularly for European non-food retailers.

Marcel Koekoek, CEO of Brand Masters, highlights the strategic fit: “Quest has built something very impressive – a fast-growing business with strong personal care products, fast-paced innovation, loyal customers, and a great team that knows how to win shelf space in a competitive category. That is exactly what attracted and excited us to welcome them into our group. We are looking to combine two strong businesses that make each other better. Together, we cover more categories, reach more markets, and offer more to our retail partners.”

Quest will continue to operate independently within the Brand Masters group, preserving its brand identity and existing customer relationships while leveraging Brand Masters’ strong European platform to accelerate growth. Antony Wagman, Co-Founder of Quest, notes the cultural alignment: “Over the course of several meetings with both teams, it became clear that the cultural fit between Quest and Brand Masters was exceptional. That shared mindset, entrepreneurial spirit, and mutual ambition ultimately became the defining factor in our decision to move forward together. We’re genuinely excited about the opportunities this partnership will create for our people, our brands, and our customers.”

Brand Masters has demonstrated strong organic growth over the past decade, supported by a buy-and-build strategy to diversify its supplier and customer base. The acquisition of Quest further broadens its product portfolio and geographic reach, extending sourcing capabilities globally.

From a market perspective, the deal strengthens Brand Masters’ competitive positioning in the FMCG and personal care sectors. The combined entity offers a more comprehensive product assortment and enhanced category management capabilities, which may pressure smaller competitors and accelerate industry consolidation. The acquisition also enables cross-selling opportunities, leveraging Quest’s presence in over 60 countries and Brand Masters’ established European retail channels.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to deliver synergies through consolidated sourcing, shared logistics, and streamlined administrative functions. Operational integration will focus on combining agile product development processes and improving supply chain coordination across Europe and Asia.

Looking ahead, Brand Masters plans to maintain Quest’s independent operations while integrating back-office functions and expanding BrandLab’s own label and licensed brand offerings. Regulatory approvals are not expected to pose significant hurdles given the complementary nature of the businesses.

This acquisition marks a significant step in Brand Masters’ growth strategy, positioning the company as a leading full-service partner for non-food retailers across Europe and beyond. The combined platform’s scale and innovation capabilities are expected to drive long-term value creation for stakeholders.