FoodLabs' Nicolaus Norden on the silver economy, GLP-1s, and what makes a brand acquirable

In conversation with The Checkout, Nicolaus Norden, investor at Berlin-based FoodLabs, mapped out where he sees the biggest opportunities for brands, and shares what the companies built around those openings will need to look like to get acquired.

The Silver Economy is underserved and wealthy

Nicolaus believes that Europe's aging population is "not necessarily overlooked but still largely underserved."

Twenty percent of Europeans are now aged 65 or older, a figure expected to reach 30% by 2050. That cohort is increasingly digitally native and holds substantial spending power.

"The science is there but today's offerings are either overly clinical or completely uninspiring," Nicolaus said. He sees a generation with growing needs around muscle loss, metabolic health, and cognitive function, and almost nothing on the market that speaks to them.

"I believe that new brands that make aging well feel aspirational rather than medicinal will own a very large market that very few startups are seriously building for yet."

"I believe that new brands that make aging well feel aspirational rather than medicinal will own a very large market that very few startups are seriously building for yet."

GLP-1s are rewriting eating behaviour and creating a new categories

The European GLP-1 market was valued at $7 billion in 2024 and is projected to nearly double by 2034. Teleconsultation platforms providing access to the drugs are already established in larger markets like the UK and Germany. But Nicolaus' focus is on what comes after the prescription.

"Since these drugs fundamentally change eating behaviour, we are already seeing a wave of new companies to emerge around this," Nicolaus said. "From high-protein small-format foods to entirely new business models like fitness concepts built specifically for GLP-1 users, whilst incumbents are adding new product lines to cater to their needs respectively."

Women's health is moving, but still clustered in the wrong places

"Female health has been talked about for years but only recently are we seeing European companies building products that actually have meaningful impact on women's lives, spanning the full lifecycle, from cycle-supporting supplements to fertility products to menopause solutions," Nicolaus told The Checkout.

The shift, he said, is in framing: women's health is treated as a core part of the health system now, not a niche alongside it.

Still, most activity clusters around the more obvious entry points. The underserved opportunity, in Nicolaus' view, lies in conditions like endometriosis and PCOS, which affects up to 13% of women globally, with over 70% undiagnosed.

"The science is years behind, the consumer landscape is nearly empty, and millions of women have nowhere to turn," he said.

Outcomes you can feel

"Health consciousness is becoming the default consumer operating system, combined with real scepticism towards ultra-processed food and an ageing population willing to spend serious money out-of-pocket," said Nicolaus.

The convergence is already producing a wave of better-for-you products and clean labels, but Nicolaus sees those as table stakes.

"Consumers don't want to feel healthy in theory, they want to feel the actual difference in their daily lives."

"Where we see the real opportunity over the next few years is products that deliver measurable, felt outcomes: energy, gut health, muscle growth / maintenance, cognitive clarity etc. Consumers don't want to feel healthy in theory, they want to feel the actual difference in their daily lives."

The real gap right now isn't in product availability but in clarity, Nicolaus said. "There is an enormous amount of noise, and consumers are genuinely struggling to separate what actually works from snake oil with good branding."

That leaves an opening for brands willing to lead with evidence over aesthetics.

"The opportunity for the next generation of brands is to cut through that with real science, honest and strong communication and products that actually deliver."

What acquirers will be looking for

Over the coming years, Nicolaus believes the most attractive acquisition targets within the consumer space will share the following:

1. A strong brand with real community pull, leading to engaged users with high repeat behaviour.
2. A credible layer of science or functional benefit that creates a long-term moat.
3. Disciplined unit economics with a clear path to profitability early on.

"The acquisition conversation has shifted from only looking at topline growth and gives increasingly more relevance to achievable bottomline. The companies worth building today are the ones that can scale efficiently, earn trust early, and actually make money doing it," he adds.

FoodLabs invests across European food, health, and sustainability from its base in Berlin. The firm's portfolio and investment focus areas are available at foodlabs.de.