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Fernando Ferdinandi founded Maxinutri in 2007 with R$ 80,000, in a 70 square meter space in Arapongas, selling only a shake, a tea, and a soup; today there are more than 200 products and export to 5 continents
Maxinutri, a supplement industry that started 19 years ago in a 70 square meter space in Arapongas, in the north of Paraná, producing only three items, is implementing an investment of R$ 67 million to expand its industrial and logistics operation, according to Exame, in a report from July 5. The package includes a R$ 45 million factory expansion and a new R$ 22 million distribution center, both in Arapongas.
The growth scale is aggressive: after earning R$ 345 million in 2025, the company projects to close this year with revenue between R$ 425 million and R$ 430 million and reach R$ 500 million in 2027, when it completes 20 years, after growing 128.8% in the last three years, according to Panorama Farmacêutico, which also detailed the plan. And the owner’s story begins behind a counter.
The pharmacy boy who saw what no one else did
The competitive advantage of Maxinutri was born in the founder’s childhood. Son of farmers, Fernando Ferdinandi started working at the age of 12 in a pharmacy in Arapongas, stayed there for 5 years going through different roles and learning about compounding, then studied Pharmacy, bought a drugstore with a college colleague, and opened a second unit, according to Exame.
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From a motorcycle sold for R$ 146 million: he used to blend açaí in his home kitchen, left informal work, and now runs a network of 140 stores in 12 states.
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He almost went bankrupt during the pandemic and drove his own delivery truck to keep the ice cream shop open, created the “ice cream wholesale” and now sells 1.3 million popsicles per month starting at R$ 1, with 32 stores and a goal of R$ 100 million.
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A couple living in Australia missed natural baby food from Brazil, created a brand that dominates 93% of the baby food category, and now launches a cookie and chocolate drink “without being junk” to double in size and earn R$ 360 million.
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A Marine Corps veteran transformed a retired $5,000 school bus into a tiny home to live with her children, sold it for $50,000, and has already built dozens of other conversions on wheels.
It was from this experience that the perception that would change everything arose: in the early 2000s, most supplements were sold in stores specialized in sports nutrition, and the category practically did not exist within pharmacies. It was precisely in this empty space that he decided to bet. “When we started, we needed to convince distributors and pharmacists that this category had potential,” the founder says in the report.
2007: R$ 80,000, 70 square meters, and three products
The beginning fit in a room. Maxinutri was founded in 2007 with an investment of R$ 80,000, in a space of 70 square meters, producing only one shake, one tea, and one soluble soup for weight loss, and today the catalog includes more than 200 items in categories such as joint health, digestive system, probiotics, nutricosmetics, and vitamins, according to Exame.
The operation also crossed borders: besides the national presence, the company exports to markets in Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, according to Panorama Farmacêutico.
The 2011 crisis: the giant order that almost killed the company
The path had a deep valley. In 2011, Maxinutri received an order from a large retail chain equivalent to approximately a year’s revenue at the time, mobilized suppliers, resorted to working capital, and increased production, but less than 20% of the order was actually purchased by the client, according to Exame. The cash flow sank, and so did the partnership.
“My partner believed the company had gone bankrupt. I believed we had made a mistake, but that the business was good and had potential,” recalls Ferdinandi in the interview. He took over the operation and debts alone, renegotiated the debts with banks and suppliers, and invested in a complete brand repositioning. Just over a decade later, the company that the partner considered dead is preparing to leap to half a billion.
The network that became a fortress: 180 distributors and 5,000 sellers
The commercial model explains the scale. The company operates through about 180 distributors spread across Brazil, responsible for approximately 85% of sales, supported by a structure of almost 5,000 sellers, which places at least one Maxinutri product on the shelves of more than 83,000 Brazilian pharmacies, according to Exame.
For the founder, it is the asset that no competitor can quickly copy: “Our partner chain is the most valuable asset we have built. It reduces the risk of concentration, reduces default, and gives us the ability to scale the portfolio,” he states in the report.
The new factory and the R$ 18 million bet on gummies
The bulk of the investment goes to production. The 20,000 square meter industrial plant in Arapongas, built from 2016 and inaugurated in 2018, is gaining an expansion of 5,000 square meters that should start operating in January of next year, with new lines of liquids, softgel capsules, pre-mixes, a new packaging sector, and expansion of the quality control laboratory, according to Exame.
The apple of the eye is the line of gummy supplements, which alone demanded R$ 18 million between equipment and structure. “It’s a movement that has been growing very rapidly. It’s a format that shows great adherence among different audiences, from young people to the elderly, due to the ease of consumption,” says Ferdinandi to Exame.
The logistics bottleneck and the fleet that started with 1 truck
The growth created a good, and expensive, problem. The company is building a distribution center of 8,000 square meters in front of the factory, with a capacity for 9,000 pallet positions, which should operate between the end of this year and the beginning of the next, as today Maxinutri supplies practically the entire national territory from Arapongas, according to Exame.
The own logistics was born from a test: four years ago, the company bought its first truck to experiment with the operation, and the result led to new acquisitions up to the current fleet of 16 trailers. The cost savings were below 10%, but the gains came from elsewhere, says the founder: “We had a drastic reduction in damages and a very significant gain in service quality, predictability, and delivery time.”
The next step: another 20,000 square meters and beauty on the radar
The expansion does not end with the current package. This year, the company acquired another area of 20,000 square meters next to the factory, land that will house new industrial projects, including the possibility of entering the hygiene and beauty market, according to Exame. “Today we help people take care of their health from the inside out. It also makes sense to participate in the care from the outside in,” explains Ferdinandi.
The projection is to grow between 15% and 17% next year until the symbolic goal of 2027. “It would be a very symbolic way to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary. It would show that it was worth insisting when everything seemed to have gone wrong,” says the founder to Exame. It is noted by this editorial, duly signaled: the boy who learned the pharmacy counter at 12 years old built right there, on the neighborhood pharmacy shelf, the channel that the giants of the sector took time to see.
From 70 square meters to the industrial complex that keeps growing in Arapongas, the story of Maxinutri shows that knowing the point of sale from the inside can be worth more than any formula.
Tell us in the comments: have you ever bought vitamins or supplements at your neighborhood pharmacy, or do you still think that’s something for a gym store?
