Hochland

What Hochland does

Hochland SE is a privately held, family-owned cheese manufacturer founded in 1927 and headquartered in Heimenkirch, Germany. The company produces a broad portfolio of cheese products — including processed cheese, cream cheese and quark, soft cheeses (Camembert, Brie), hard and semi-hard cheeses, and grated quark — under a multi-brand architecture (Hochland, Almette, Patros, Gervais, Grünländer, Valbon, Valbrie, Fetaxa) and additionally operates the Simply V plant-based cheese alternatives brand. Manufacturing is carried out across 13 production facilities in Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Romania, Russia, and the United States, with products sold in more than 30 countries through three channels: supermarket/retail chains, food service operators, and industrial/B2B food manufacturers.

The business operates on a traditional consumer goods revenue model: Hochland produces and sells branded cheese products (one-time purchase pricing is not publicly disclosed) through retail, food service, and industrial customers, with distribution into major supermarket chains including Perekrestok, Pyatyorochka, Okey, and Samokat in Russia, supplemented by factory outlet (Werksverkauf) sales directly at the Heimenkirch headquarters. A vertically integrated subsidiary, Hochland Natec (established 1974), designs and builds proprietary cheese-processing equipment, including an Australian operation acquired via Gold Peg International in 2015. Procurement spending is approximately 1 billion euros annually, and the company employs 5,001–10,000 people across 40 nationalities.

Ownership remains with the three founding families (Zummer, Reich, Fuchs) since 1927, and the legal form was converted from Hochland AG to Hochland SE (Societas Europaea) in 2010. Governance is exercised through a three-member Management Board (CEO Sebastian Schaeffer, CFO Hubert Staub, COO Josef Stitzl) and a six-member Supervisory Board chaired by Hansjörg Ziegler. The company continues to invest at scale — the 2024 Lighthouse project at Formagerie Henri Hutin in France is described as the largest single investment in company history — and has been named one of Germany's best employers in the Great Place to Work ranking in 2024.

Name

Hochland

Legal name

Hochland SE

Website

https://hochland-group.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Hochland SE is a family-owned German cheese manufacturer, founded in 1927, operating 13 production facilities across Europe, Russia, and the US. It produces and sells processed, cream, soft, and semi-hard cheeses under brands including Hochland, Almette, Patros, Gervais, Grünländer, and Simply V to retail, food service, and industrial B2B customers in 30+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cheese Manufacturing

NAICS

Cheese Manufacturing (311513), Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro primary industry

Cheese Manufacturing (AFAKAKAB)

Keywords

• Cheese manufacturing
• Dairy products
• Processed cheese
• Cream cheese
• Plant-based cheese alternatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Heimenkirch

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cheese and Dairy Product Sales: Primary revenue from manufacturing and selling cheese products including processed cheese, cream cheese, quark, soft cheeses, semi-hard and hard cheeses to retail, food service, and industrial customers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Hochland manufactures and sells a broad portfolio of cheese products through multiple consumer brands including processed cheese, cream cheese, quark, soft cheeses (Camembert, Brie), semi-hard and hard cheeses, white/brined cheeses, and plant-based cheese alternatives. The company operates 13 production facilities across Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Romania, Russia, and the United States, and distributes its products in over 30 countries through retail, food service, and industrial channels.

Product overview

Hochland is a cheese manufacturing company with a multi-brand portfolio of dairy products. The company produces a comprehensive range of cheese products across multiple formats and varieties. The product portfolio includes: (1) The main Hochland brand covering processed cheese in various formats (triangles, slices, loaves); (2) Almette and Patros brands for fresh/quark cheeses; (3) Simply V brand for vegetarian/plant-based cheese alternatives; (4) Gervais for spreadable quark products; (5) Grünländer and Valbrie for semi-hard cheese varieties; (6) Fetaxa for white/feta cheeses; (7) Valbon for cream cheese spreads. Products are sold in multiple formats including triangles, slices, cups, and loaves, and are distributed in over 30 countries through retail, food service, and industrial channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SimplyV: Plant-based cheese alternatives brand
• Hochland
• Almette
• fetaxa
• Grünländer
• Patros
• Valbon
• Gervais
• Valbrie

Products and services

• Hochland

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Lactalis Group: World's largest dairy group, privately held, with deep presence in branded cheese (President, Galbani, Parmalat) and ingredients. Comparable as a much larger broad incumbent spanning cheese, milk, and dairy ingredients globally.
• Arla Foods: European dairy cooperative with strong cheese brands (Castello, Apetina, Lurpak-adjacent) and large B2B ingredients business. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping cheese portfolio and pan-European retail distribution.
• Danone: French multinational dairy and plant-based group with cheese (e.g., processed cheese in select markets), yogurt, and dairy-alternative lines including plant-based. Comparable as a broad incumbent investing in dairy alternatives (Alpro) alongside traditional dairy.
• FrieslandCampina: Dutch dairy cooperative with substantial cheese business (Goudse, Dutch cheese) and B2B ingredients exposure. Comparable as a broad incumbent in branded and industrial dairy across Europe and beyond.
• Mondelēz International: Global snacks giant with adjacent dairy-cheese positions (e.g., cheese-flavored portfolios in Europe) and broad CPG distribution. Comparable as a broad incumbent overlapping in retail channels and consumer-cheese adjacencies, though cheese is not core.

Direct peers

• Schreiber Foods: US-based privately held dairy company focused on cheese and cream cheese (process, natural, cream) sold globally through retail and foodservice. Comparable to Hochland in private status, cheese specialization, and multi-geography B2B/retail distribution.
• Bel Group: French family-owned dairy group best known for The Laughing Cow processed cheese, Babybel, and Kiri. Closely comparable to Hochland as a multi-brand, multi-country cheese manufacturer serving retail and foodservice with processed and branded specialty cheeses.
• Savencia Fromage & Dairy: French dairy group specializing in cheese and dairy ingredients (Caprice des Dieux, Saint Albray, Elle & Vire). Highly comparable to Hochland in product portfolio breadth across processed and specialty cheeses and in international branded cheese manufacturing.
• Emmi Group: Swiss publicly listed dairy group with strong processed-cheese, specialty cheese, and dairy-dessert portfolio. Comparable to Hochland in scale, multi-country European manufacturing footprint, and broad cheese sub-category coverage.
• Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller: German family-owned dairy group with major processed-cheese, yogurt, and dairy-dessert brands. Closely comparable to Hochland in German private dairy heritage, multi-category cheese portfolio, and B2B dairy ingredients exposure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hochland
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCledJxdXYmBqNEre-YFgX3w/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/Hochland-Group-Karriere-1083688641842235
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/63407
• Instagraminstagram.com/hochland_karriere

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Hochland