Gebana

What Gebana does

Gebana AG, headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, is a privately held direct-to-consumer and B2B e-commerce company specializing in organic and Fairtrade-certified food products. Its proprietary gebana.com platform sells fresh and dried fruits, vegetables, nuts, chocolate, coffee, tea, wine, pantry staples and gifts to Swiss conscious consumers via online storefronts in German and French, supplemented by a physical Zürich store and Swiss Farmer's Market presence. The business also runs a B2B wholesale trade in raw and processed organic and fair-trade ingredients through a subsidiary in Utrecht, Netherlands, serving European retailers, cooperatives, and processors including GEPA, Equal Exchange and Altromercato. Underlying the commerce layer is a proprietary revenue-sharing model that returns 10% of the sales price to farming families in addition to Bio and Fairtrade premiums, with declared profit-sharing to employees, customers and shareholders.

The company traces its origins to the 1973 'Bananenfrauen' movement in Switzerland and was formally incorporated as gebana AG in 1998, with mail-order and online-shop operations beginning in 2003. It owns and operates wholly-owned production subsidiaries in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Togo and Benin, and has field offices in Berlin (Growth & Outreach, Development & Operations) and Utrecht (B2B Operations, B2B Quality). Sourcing is organized around long-term contracts with farmer cooperatives - for example, 60% pre-financing for GEPA on Togolese bio cocoa - and a network of development-finance and sector partners including SECO, the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, Coop and HALBA, DEG, Ecotop Schweiz, EDUCE (Mexico), Coopavam (Brazil), Narimpex and Anyfion. In 2023, the company took over the Greek olive oil business of Rolf and Sonja Roost, adding a new Mediterranean oil vertical.

Financially, Gebana reported 17% revenue growth in 2021 versus 2020, posted a €1.5 million loss in 2022, secured approximately $6.5 million in growth capital from BIO and EDFI Management Company in July 2023, and returned to profitability in 2025 under CEO Christophe Schmidt. The company is financed by numerous small and medium solidarity investors and has no disclosed venture capital or private equity rounds.

Name

Gebana

Legal name

gebana AG

Website

https://gebana.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gebana AG is a Zürich-based direct-to-consumer and B2B e-commerce platform that sells organic and Fairtrade-certified foods - fresh and dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, coffee and pantry staples - to Swiss consumers and European wholesale buyers, sourcing directly from over 10,000 farming families across Africa, South America, and the Mediterranean through wholly-owned origin subsidiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic & Fair Trade Food E-commerce

NAICS

All Other Specialty Food Retailers (445298), Food and Beverage Retailers (445)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural, Organic & Health Foods Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organic & Natural Beverage Wholesale (AFAIAJAE), Ethnic Bakery, Confectionery & Snacks Wholesale (AFAIAIAE)

Keywords

• Organic food retail
• Fair trade e-commerce
• Specialty food distribution
• Sustainable grocery
• Direct-to-consumer food

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. E-commerce Retail Sales: Direct online sales of organic and fair trade products to consumers. Products include fruits, vegetables, nuts, dried fruits, pantry items, coffee, tea, wine, and more.
2. Wholesale/B2B Trade: Grosshandel subsidiary in Netherlands handles wholesale of raw materials and processed products from farmer cooperatives to B2B customers.
3. Subscription Boxes: Regular delivery of seasonal products through subscription model (Abos).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gebana operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform (gebana.com) selling certified organic and fair trade food products sourced directly from farming families in countries such as Burkina Faso, Togo, Brazil, Tunisia, and Greece. The offering spans fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, pantry staples, beverages, and meat/cheese, with subscription boxes (Abos), pre-ordering for seasonal produce, and bulk packaging options. A separate B2B wholesale arm (gebana Grosshandel in Utrecht) supplies these products in larger quantities to retailers and restaurants across Europe.

Product overview

Gebana operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform specializing in fair trade and organic food products. The company sells a comprehensive range of food categories including fresh fruits & vegetables, meat & cheese, chocolate & snacks, nuts & kernels, dried fruits, pantry staples, and beverages. Products are sourced directly from farmer families globally, with a focus on sustainable trade practices. The platform features pre-order capabilities for seasonal produce, bulk purchasing options (grosse Packungen), and subscription services (Abos). Gebana's model emphasizes direct relationships with producers, sharing 10% of sales revenue with farmer families in addition to fair trade prices, and distributing profits equally among employees, customers, and shareholders when profitable.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• gebana Online Shop (DTC E-Commerce Platform) Direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront (gebana.com) offering certified organic and fair trade foods sourced directly from farming families, with German and French language versions for the Swiss market and delivery to customers.
• Subscription Boxes (Abos) Recurring subscription service delivering seasonal organic and fair trade products to consumers on a regular cadence.
• Gift Vouchers (Gutscheine) Gebana gift vouchers redeemable on the online shop for organic and fair trade products.
• B2B Wholesale (gebana Grosshandel) Wholesale supply of organic and fair trade raw materials and processed products from farmer cooperatives to European B2B customers such as retailers, fair trade companies, and restaurants; long-term contracts with pre-financing available.
• Bulk Packaging (Grosse Packungen) Bulk-size packaging option for individual and business customers purchasing larger quantities of organic and fair trade foods.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10% of sales price returned to farming families
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GEPAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2019German fair trade company and largest European importer of fair trade food products. Purchasing approximately 170 tonnes of bio cocoa annually from gebana Togo under long-term contracts with 60% pre-financing.
• Equal ExchangecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS company specializing in organic coffee, tea, sugar, bananas, avocados, cocoa and chocolate from farmer cooperatives. Purchasing approximately 170 tonnes of bio cocoa from gebana Togo.
• AltromercatocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLargest alternative trade network in Italy, originally a cooperative that evolved into a consortium of world shops. Includes over 118 associations and cooperatives in Italy with relationships to 155 producers in over 45 countries.
• Ecotop SchweizcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for field schools and training in agroforestry in Burkina Faso and Togo. Provides expertise in dynamic agroforestry systems and knowledge transfer to farming families.
• Coop and HALBAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiators of 'Sustainable Mangos and Cashews - Made in Africa' project launched in September 2021, focused on sustainable production in Africa.
• NarimpexcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSwiss honey importer collaborating with EDUCE cooperative in Mexico. Narimpex promotes bio-beekeeping and imparts expertise to indigenous populations since 2016.
• EDUCE (Mexico)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBeekeeping cooperative on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Partners with Narimpex to promote organic beekeeping and provide indigenous communities with knowledge for regular income.
• AnyfionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner maintaining test and demonstration fields in Greece for agroforestry. gebana visits these fields to learn and share knowledge about sustainable farming practices.
• Kofmel-MühlecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSwiss mill in Deitingen, Canton Solothurn, producing high-quality flours from regional farmers since 1910. Supplies wheat, spelt, and rye flour to gebana.
• CoopavamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazilian cooperative in Juruena, Mato Grosso, working with over 300 collectors (mostly indigenous) harvesting Brazil nuts from the rainforest. Since 2020, gebana's revenue from Brazil nuts has doubled Coopavam's business.
• Rolf Roost and Sonja Roost-WeidelicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreek olive oil producers who transferred their 25-year direct sales business to gebana in 2023. Long-term relationships with olive farmers and a mill on the southern Peloponnese.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Farmy.ch: Swiss direct-to-consumer online platform delivering organic and regional food products to households. Closest head-to-head competitor to gebana's e-commerce D2C proposition in Switzerland, with similar subscription/pre-order mechanics and a comparable farmer-direct value proposition.
• GEPA The Fair Trade Company: Germany-based pioneer in fair-trade food distribution and gebana's largest cocoa customer (~170 tonnes/year). Operates the same fair-trade/certified-organic mission across similar product categories and channels, and as both a buyer and peer reflects structural overlap in origin supply.
• Rapunzel Naturkost: German organic/fair-trade food manufacturer and brand owner with a strong farmer cooperative network and B2B plus retail distribution. Comparable to gebana in combining certified-organic sourcing with farmer-direct relationships and a brand-led premium positioning.
• Bio Partner Schweizer AG: Swiss organic food wholesaler and distributor serving retailers and natural food stores. Operates in the same organic/Bio wholesale category that supports gebana's Utrecht-based B2B arm and competes for the same farmer relationships in Europe.
• Equal Exchange: US fair-trade cooperative purchasing bio cocoa from gebana Togo (~170 tonnes/year) and operating its own fair-trade retail/wholesale in the same categories. Mirror-image peer: a buyer that is also a competitor for the conscious-consumer wallet in cocoa and adjacent categories.

Broad incumbents

• Alnatura: Germany-headquartered organic supermarket and brand operator (now part of Migros) with significant Swiss footprint. Competes with gebana across organic grocery categories but as a multi-format incumbent with private-label scale and physical stores rather than a D2C fair-trade specialist.
• Coop (Nachhaltigkeitslinie): Switzerland's second-largest retailer and a partner of gebana (Coop + HALBA jointly initiated the 'Sustainable Mangos and Cashews – Made in Africa' project). Competes with gebana through its Coop Naturaplan fair-trade/organic range but at vastly greater scale.

Regional players

• Bio Company: Berlin-based organic supermarket chain combining retail stores with branded organic products. Comparable mission and product mix to gebana but operates physical retail in the German market where gebana has an outreach/operations office.
• La Vie (Carrefour): Carrefour's French organic retail brand representing an incumbent's organic-focused offer. Comparable in product range (fresh produce, pantry, beverages) though competing primarily in France rather than Switzerland.

Emerging players

• Naturkost Ernst Niehaus: Specialist German organic/fair-trade distributor focused on natural food stores, with comparable farmer-direct sourcing and product breadth (dried fruits, nuts, cocoa). Useful peer for the wholesale side of gebana's Utrecht operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCx4cEmAAn5TuH5MS6iI41nA
• Facebookfacebook.com/gebana.ch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gebana-ag
• Instagraminstagram.com/gebana.official
• Pinterestpinterest.ch/gebana_official
• Xx.com/gebana

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gebana