ricola media folder · 2020-04-22 · ricola media folder, august 2019 3 facts and figures 90% of...

RICOLAMEDIA FOLDER

August 2019

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FA C T S A N D F I G U R E S

T H E C O M PA N Y

– Ricola in a nutshell

– Our Story

P R O D U C T S

– Range

– From herbs to the Ricola herb speciality

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

– Sustainability strategy

– Ricola Foundation

– Ricolab

A R T A N D A R C H I T E C T U R E

– Ricola and art

– Ricola and architecture

C O N TA C T

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FACTS AND FIGURES

90% of Ricola products are exported.

Ricola herbs are grown by over 100 Swiss mountain farmers.

Ricola processes 1,400 tonnes of fresh

herbs per year.

In its Laufen facility Ricola produces 35,000

drops per minute

Ricola markets over 60 different products in total, including speci-ality teas, all over the world – and

the number grows every year.

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The traditional Ricola mixture contains 13 herbs.

Ricola herbs flourish in five carefully selected regions

of Switzerland.

The fourth generation of the founding family is

now active in the company.

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All its drops are produced in just one facility in Laufen,

Switzerland.

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Ricola products are popular in over 50 countries. Its largest

markets are the USA, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland.

Swiss mountain farmers grow herbs for Ricola

on an area equivalent to 124 football pitches.

Ricola produces seven billion delicious drops

a year in Laufen

Ricola has a total of over 500 employees worldwide, 430 of them in Switzerland.


THE COMPANY

RICOLA IN A NUTSHELL

WHO WE ARE

Chairman of the Board of Directors Felix Richterich

Chief Executive Officer Thomas P. Meier

Revenue in 2018 CHF 339.3 million (Group)

Employees > 500 (430 of them in Switzerland)

Foundation 1930 by Emil Richterich

Holding company Ricola Group Ltd., Laufen

Subsidiary companies Switzerland: Ricola Schweiz AG; Ricolab China: Ricola Trading (Shanghai) Ltd.

France: Ricola Europe SA United Kingdom: Ricola UK Ltd.

Hong Kong: Ricola (Asia Pacific) Ltd. Italy: Divita S.r.L. Singapore: Ricola Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

USA: Ricola USA Inc. Canada: Ricola Canada Inc.

Germany: Ricola Deutschland GmbH; Joint Venture CFP Brands

WHAT WE DO

Founder Emil Richterich laid the foundations for Ricola’s global success in 1940, when he created the top secret recipe for Ricola Original, the drop

with 13 Ricola herbs. They remain the basis of all Ricola herb drops to this day.

Ricola is one of the world’s most innovative herb drop manufacturers. The family company exports over 60 different herb specialities to more than

50 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. All Ricola’s herb specialities are produced in Switzerland.

HOW WE DO IT

Ricola’s uncompromising commitment to quality in all areas is the basis for all business decisions. The company attaches particular importance to

the quality of the raw materials it uses, and to their careful processing to produce the various herb specialities – insisting on the herbs being culti-

vated and harvested by Swiss mountain farmers using natural methods.

For Ricola, commercial success is not an end in itself: it allows to assume its responsibilities to employees, society and the environment. Thinking

and acting sustainably is central to this family-owned company. Ricola’s concept of sustainability incorporate both environmental and social values.

WHY WE DO IT

Wanting to do something good for the world has always been an important driving force behind everything that Ricola does: using the finest Swiss

herbs to make a small contribution to the wellbeing of consumers and to a world where people enjoy living. The fundamentals of the brand have

not changed since the invention of the original blend: naturally cultivated herbs, a perfect balance between functionality and enjoyment, and its

Swiss origins.


The history of this Swiss family company Ricola goes back to the 1930s. Baker and confectioner Emil Richterich founded the company Richterich & Compagnie in his home town of Laufen in 1930.

In 1940 Emil Richterich invented Ricola’s 13-herb blend, thus laying the foundations for the company’s future global success.

It was in 1946 that the family company first regis-tered a logo with the brand name Ricola, which was composed of the first syllables of „Richterich & Co. Laufen“.

As early as the 1950s, demand for the speciality drops from Laufen was so strong that the compa-ny had to move to a new site outside the town. In the 1960s, fortified by its success in Switzerland, Ricola became one of the first Swiss companies to export drops. Germany became its most important market, but Ricola products also grew in populari-ty in other European countries.

OUR STORY

In 1967, with his sons Hans Peter and Alfred, Emil Richterich restructured Ricola, converting it into a public limited company. The same year the family company commenced operations in a new factory in Laufen, producing and packing Ricola’s herb drops entirely automatically.

Ricola expanded its global distribution in the 1970s, moving into Asian markets such as Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore – and taking its first steps in the USA. Ricola added new herb speciali-ties to its range, such as tea and herb pearls. Founder Emil Richterich’s sons Hans Peter and Al-fred took the helm after his death in 1973.

„We need herbs!“ At the start of the 1980s Ricola began to place ads of this kind throughout Swit-zerland and contacted mayors and schools. Why? There were no longer enough grasslands to keep up with the demand in the Laufen valley, which threatened the supply of the most important raw

I M A G E S

1 Packaging Ricola Original

2 Old cooking equipment

3 Emil Richterich

4 Drop-producing machine

5 The town of Laufen

These and other images from the company’s history can be freely downloaded from the media gallery on the Ricola website.

THE COMPANY

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Emil Richterich first came up with the recipe of Ricola Original, the blend of 13 Swiss herbs, in the summer of 1940. Nearly 80 years later, Ricola’s herbal blend is a global symbol of Swiss quality. And the success story of the company and the family continues.


materials used in Ricola’s products. While the ap-peal was unsuccessful, it did lead Ricola to start working with Swiss farmers, ushering in the era of systematic herb cultivation in Switzerland.

In the early 1990s Felix Richterich – a representative of the third generation of the founding family – took over the company’s operational management. In 1993 Ricola Europe SA, based in Mulhouse-Brunstatt, France, began to package drops for the European market – though they were still produ-ced in Switzerland. This was also the year in which the “Riicolaa!” yodelling ad was shown on TV and broadcast on radio for the first time in Switzerland and Germany. It led to a massive in-crease in brand awareness, with Ricola deciding to introduce “Riicolaa!” to other countries as well. EThe iconic call has been part of every Ricola ad ever since.

In 2006 the company commissioned an ultra- modern production facility in Laufen with an integ-rated process control system. This meets the latest technical requirements for food and pharmaceuti-cal production. As well as classic herb drops, Ricola also put innovative new products on the market – like soft drops, chewing gum and herb tea in bags.

The internationalization of the Group continued: Ricola established subsidiaries in Italy and Hong Kong, followed in 2009 by Ricola UK Ltd., its first subsidiary in England.

In 2014 Ricola opened its new Herb Center built using earth and clay from the Laufen valley. The sustainable methods used to construct the new Herb Center are evident in the energy- efficient heating system and the rammed earth-based facades, which help to balance temperature and humidity inside the building. The company now processes all its herbs under one roof, thus minimizing transportation distances.

In 2015 it established a Canadian subsidiary, Ricola Canada Ltd.

At the end of 2016 Ricola added the independent subsidiary Ricolab to its own innovation depart-ment. Ricolab studies trends, technologies and business models that combine nature and tech- nology, developing and testing prototypes for new business areas. This makes Ricolab an important element of this future-oriented family company.

I M A G E S

1 Ricola herb center

2 Production building

3 Marketing building

These and other images from the company’s history can be freely downloaded from the media gallery on the Ricola website.

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THE COMPANY


In 2018 Ricola launched its new „Wish you well“ campaign, highlighting what matters to the com-pany most: contributing to the wellbeing of consu-mers and to a world where people enjoy living. Also in 2018 Ricola established its first subsidiary in China: Ricola Trading (Shanghai) Ltd.

In 2019 Ricola joined the German distribution joint venture CFP Brands as an equal partner of Perfetti van Melle and Fisherman’s Friend. On 1 May 2019 Thomas P. Meier took over the operatio-nal management of Ricola as its new CEO, while Felix Richterich concentrated on his strategic role as Chairman of the Board of Directors. His son Ra-phael Richterich, a representative of the fourth ge-neration of the family, became Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Today Ricola has around 500 employees all over the world. Ricola products are available in over 50 countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.

THE COMPANY


RANGE

Ricola constantly develops and expands its product range to satisfy customer requirements, introducing new herb specialities every year. Its diverse range extends from the blend of Swiss herbs to herb teas and sugar-free herb drops.

It currently consists of over 60 herb drops and speciality teas in a variety of packaging. Every year seven billion drops roll off the production lines in Laufen, around 90 per cent of them destined for export to more than 50 countries.

PRODUCTS

The company’s most successful product all over the world remains Ricola’s Original Herb drops, but flavours such as Lemon Mint and Elderflower are also very popular.

Ricola herb specialities hold leading positions in the Swiss domestic market, as well as other relevant markets such as the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong and Singapore.

I M A G E S

1 Wrapper Original Herb

2 Box Original Herb

3 Bag Original Herb

4 Drop production

These and other images of Ricola products can be freely downloaded from the media gallery on the Ricola website.

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FROM HERBS TO THE RICOLA HERB SPECIALITY

GROWING REGIONS

Fresh herbs are delicate: being transported over long distances is not good for them. And that is why Ricola does not merely process herbs in Switzerland: we also have them grown here. Over 100 highly experienced herb farmers in the Valais, Emmental, Val Poschiavo, the southern foothills of the Jura mountains and Central Switzerland are under contract to Ricola. Every herb has unique requirements that need to be met if it is to become healthy and strong, which means that cultivation methods are aligned with various climates, sites and soil conditions. In Emmental and the southern foothills of the Jura mountains, acidic soil and relatively high rainfall create the ideal environment in which to grow peppermint crops. Meanwhile the warm, dry climate and light, stony soil in Valais and the Val Poschiavo are ideal for the cultivation of sage and thyme – some areas are up to 1,000 metres above sea level. The Ricola initiative has made herb cultivation an alternative source of income for many farmers in Switzerland, where the company is seen as a pioneer in the field.

CULT IVAT ION AND HARVEST ING

Herb farmers plough and harrow the fields, then start to plant the seeds from mid-April. The herbs are highly sensitive during the early stages of growth. To ensure that no harm comes to the crops due to unforeseen cold snaps, the farmers can wait up to a month before sowing the seeds in growing regions at higher altitudes.

Size and location of the cultivated area determines whether herb farmers use machines or manual la-bour to work the land effectively. They cultivate the herbs using natural methods (in compliance with Bio Suisse standards).

The farmers practice crop rotation to maximize soil fertility and help the individual fields and plants to stay healthy and strong. Ricola relies on this natural method of herb cultivation and strongly opposes the use of artificial fertilizers as a substitute for missing nutrients. This also leads to increased biodiversity. The farmers do not harvest the herbs before they are brimming with valuable active ingredients. Ricola assesses and monitors the quality of the herbs from planting to harvesting.

PRODUCTS

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I M A G E S

1 Herb cultivation

2 The herb harvest

3 Quality control

4 Drying

5 Peppermint in its natural form

6 Burnet in its natural form

7 Cowslip

These and other images of herbs and herb processing can be freely downloaded from the media gallery on the Ricola website.

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I M A G E S

1 A delivery to the Herb Center

2 Herb processing

3 Herb mixture

4 Ricola drops

5 Herb garden in Zermatt

6 Herb garden in Nenzlingen

These and other images of the production process can be freely downloaded from the media gallery on the Ricola website.

PROCESS ING AND PRODUCTION

At the production site in Laufen the delivered herbs undergo further quality controls to ensure that they meet their high expectations: fresh-ness, colour, aroma, purity, the content and quality of the ingredients – everything must be right before the herbs will be further processed.

Herbs that pass this stringent quality tests are dried, cleaned, cut and mixed in the Ricola Herb Center, creating the unique 13-herb mixture. In the following production process the active ingredients are extracted from the herbs and – depending on variety – mixed with other ingre-dients such as honey. Ricola is just as insistent that its other raw materials must be natural and of high quality. No artificial colourings or flavourings are used.

The mixture is then boiled, formed into drops and cooled.

RICOLA’S HERB GARDENS

Switzerland has a tradition of herb gardens, which were once found in virtually all convent gardens. Ricola maintains this tradition with its display gardens in Nenzlingen, Kandersteg, Zermatt, Pontresina and on the Trogberg mountain. Situated on popular hiking routes, the herb gardens are open to the public. From May to September, visitors encounter the 13-herb blend in its natural state and learn a great deal about herb cultivation and the power of herbs: a very special sort of natural experience.

PRODUCTS

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For Ricola, commercial success is not an end in itself: it allows to assume its responsibilities to employees, society and the environment. In addition to Ricola’s uncompromising commitment to quality, thinking and acting sustainably is central to this family-owned company – which gives senior management an important basis for making decisions.

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY

Ricola adopted its sustainability strategy in 2013. Incorporating social as well as environmental principles, this pervades all parts of the company. It undergoes a constant process of review and adaptation, and Ricola regularly monitors progress towards meeting sustainability targets.

The sustainability strategy is based on the following four cornerstones:

WE ARE COMMITTED TO QUALITY:

Ricola’s products and procurement processes

are sustainable.

The company attaches great importance to the quality of the ingredients it uses, and to their care-ful processing to produce the various herb specia-lities. Accordingly it promotes the natural cultiva-tion of herbs in Switzerland: Ricola herb farmers grow their crops in compliance with Bio Suisse standards, rejecting any use of artificial fertilizers. Ricola is just as insistent that its other raw materi-als – honey, for example – must be natural and of high quality. No artificial colourings or flavourings are used. Whenever possible, Ricola obtains its raw materials from local and regional suppliers.

WE RESPECT NATURE:

Ricola’s operations are environmentally sound.

Environmentally sound operations and reduced energy consumption are Ricola’s top priorities, and the company thus constantly sets itself new targets.

The commissioning of the Ricola factory in Laufen in 2006 was an environmental milestone: it features ultra-modern equipment and resource-saving processes. The production of herb drops generates a great deal of waste heat. much of which is captured by heat-recovery systems and used to heat both the water used in production and the buildings themselves. With outside temperatures down to -2 C° the company operates all its equipment with recovered production heat. To reduce its CO2 emissions Ricola uses an energy mix containing no light oil at all.

The Herb Center in Laufen, opened in 2014, also contributes to environmentally sound operations. Ricola processes all its herbs under one roof, minimizing transportation distances. Constructed of earth and clay, the building’s facade saves a great deal of energy in comparison with conventi-onal facades. The building complies with the latest environmental construction directives, regulating temperature and humidity itself. The building is heated with waste heat from the production site next door.

The 815-square-metre photovoltaic installation on the roof of the Herb Center has supplied the buil-ding with power since 2017, delivering about half of its energy requirements.

SUSTAINABILITY


WE VALUE OUR EMPLOYEES :

Ricola creates an agreeable working

environment.

For Felix Richterich, Chairman of Ricola’s Board of Directors, the company’s responsibility as employer is central: “As a major employer in the Laufen valley, we bear a lot of responsibility. Social concern for our employees goes without saying for us. It’s part of our mentality.“ Accordingly Ricola constantly invests in training and employee satisfaction.

Ricola has over 100 Swiss herb farmers under contract. For most of these farming families, herb cultivation is an important source of income. Ricola is also conscious of its responsibilities to them: as a fair, reliable business partner, Ricola enters into fixed supply contracts with terms extending over several years.

WE ARE AN ACT IVE PART OF SOCIETY:

Ricola bears social responsibilities.

Ricola’s sustainability strategy also incorporates social principles. This is evidenced through Ricola’s commitment to preserving and promoting cultural values and charitable projects.

Brothers Alfred and Hans Peter Richterich established the „Emil and Rosa Richterich-Beck“ foundation in remembrance of their parents. Its purpose is „to support and foster artistic, cultural and educational activity, especially in the Laufen valley, to contribute to charitable institutions and aid organisations, and to help people who would otherwise be in need owing to sickness, incapacity, old age or for other reasons“. The „Emil and Rosa Richterich-Beck“ foundation is funded from Ricola’s earnings.

The Ricola Foundation and the company’s funding for the arts are essential contributions to the preservation of cultural values and support for charitable projects.

SUSTAINABILITY

I M A G E S

1 A herb farmer family

2 The Herb Center’s solar installation

3 Production workers

These and other images on the subject of sustainability can be freely downloaded from the media gallery on the Ricola website.

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RICOLA FOUNDATION

In June 2010 the company established the Ricola Foundation intended to support nature and cultu-ral projects. In particular, it develops and provides financial support for projects that investigate and seek to gain a better understanding of people’s livelyhoods in terms of nature and culture.

„The Ricola Foundation“, says Lukas Richterich, Chairman of the foundation’s Board of Trustees and co-owner of Ricola, „arose from the company’s attachment to the natural ingredients in our products and to our cultural tradition.“ When Ricola talks of „culture“, it means it in the broader sense: “cultura“ originally meant the cul-tivation of the soil. But the use of herbs as traditi-onal remedies is part of culture too.

The Ricola Foundation’s central activity is current-ly its support for COLOSS, a scientific network that coordinates global research into the loss of honey bees. The foundation also supports other projects in the areas of clay architecture and crop research.Further information can be found at www.ricolafoundation.org.

RICOLAB

At the end of 2016 Ricola added the independent subsidiary Ricolab to its own innovation depart-ment. Ricolab studies trends, technologies and business models that combine nature and techno-logy, developing and testing prototypes for new business areas. This makes Ricolab an important element of this future-oriented family company. Ricolab is convinced that companies must be part of the solution for a sustainable world.

This is why this future laboratory assesses new business areas of their market potential and their contribution to sustainability. Ricolab uses the UN Sustainable Development goals as a framework for all its activities.

Further information can be found at www.ricolab.ch.

SUSTAINABILITY

I M A G E S

Mallow with a bee

This image on the subject of sustain-ability can be freely downloaded from the media gallery on the Ricola website.


RICOLA AND ART

Since 1975 the shareholders in the Ricola family holding company, have been curating and adding to the Ricola collection of contempory art from Switzerland. The works are displayed on the Group’s premises for its employees to view. The collection is also presented to the public on com-pany tours, during which attendees are free to experience and discuss the art work in an industrial setting far removed from museum conditions.

From the „Zurich Concretists“ to Intra-Art

The collection begins with early works by Concdrete artists from Zurich, with special focus on Richard Paul Lohse and Camille Graeser. It includes important individual works from recent decades, as well as items by the youngest generation of artists in Switzerland. The collection specializes primarily in abstract paintings, drawings, art photography art and more recently electronic art as well (= Intra-Art).

The Ricola Collection Prize

Every two years since 2014 the Ricola Collection has awarded a prize to honour the work of an internationally significant artist. The award inclu-des prize money of CHF 20,000 and a publication.

RICOLA AND ARCHITECTURE

In the late 1970s Alfred Richterich invited artists and architects to Laufen to discuss improvements in urban planning. One of them was the young Basel architect Jacques Herzog. This initial contact marked the beginning not only of a friendly relationship with this architect – still unknown at the time – but also of the company’s close cooperation with Basel architectural practice Herzog & de Meuron, now famous throughout the world. „It is not only our location in the Basel region that links us with Herzog & de Meuron“, says Felix Richterich, Chairman of the Ricola Board of Directors. „The main reason we found each other is that we have the same ideas about, and commitment to, quality, functionality and the environment.“

This cooperation gave rise to a globally unique collection of buildings that – in a restricted area – reflect the ongoing development of the architec-tural philosophy of Herzog & de Meuron since itsbeginnings, and uphold the quality standards thatRicola prioritizes across all areas of its business.They are among the industrial buildings in Europethat are most visited by lovers of architecture.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

I M A G E S

1 Art at Ricola

2 Factory building (Herzog & de Meuron)

These and other images on the subject of art and architecture can be freely downloaded from the media gallery on the Ricola website.

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CONTACT

Media contact

Ricola Group LtdPublic [email protected]. +41 61 765 4121

ricola media folder · 2020-04-22 · ricola media folder, august 2019 3 facts and figures 90% of...

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