Holderhof Products

What Holderhof Products does

Holderhof Produkte AG is a Swiss family-owned beverage and food manufacturer founded in 2004 and headquartered in Niederwil (SG), with production sites in Henau and Sulgen. The company operates a dual business model: private label contract manufacturing for third-party brands (iced tea, lemonades, spritzers, syrups, juices, smoothies, energy drinks, alcoholic beverages, and apple products) at minimum order quantities of 5,000–10,000 bottles, alongside sales of its own Holderhof, Lacobi (traditional syrup), and Fruit Rules (smoothie) brands through Swiss farm shops, retail chains, and export markets in Germany and neighbouring countries.

Holderhof differentiates through unusual vertical integration for a mid-sized producer: it cultivates 16+ hectares of organic herbs and 1,600 elderberry trees at its Ufhofen farm, operates a 100-tonne-per-year herb drying facility, and runs the Sulgen fruit processing centre with 100 stainless steel tanks (100,000L each) for direct (non-concentrate) apple juice and puree production. The Henau site houses two aseptic PET lines, one glass line, and one can line, with combined annual filling capacity exceeding 70 million bottles across more than 1,200 product variations. Go-to-market is primarily direct field sales, with named key account managers for Switzerland (Daniel Menzi) and Germany (Simeon-Joel Brunner), supplemented by content-driven marketing and presence at organic trade fairs such as BioFach.

The company monetizes through one-time unit pricing on contract-manufactured and own-brand orders, with farm shop delivery free above CHF 300. Selected enterprise customers include German food retail chains (REWE, EDEKA), German bakery and fast-food chains, Kronberg AG (hospitality), Hof-Märcht Baar (farm shop), and other beverage manufacturers purchasing bulk cloudy apple juice. Recent strategic emphasis has been on sustainability infrastructure — including Switzerland's first fully electric Fendt standard tractor, four Mercedes-Benz eActros electric delivery trucks (target: 90% electric deliveries within two years), 1.3 million kWh per year of rooftop solar, and a trial of the Caterra autonomous laser weeding robot on organic herb fields.

Name

Holderhof Products

Legal name

Holderhof Produkte AG

Website

https://holderhof.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Swiss family-owned private label beverage manufacturer producing iced teas, lemonades, spritzers, syrups, juices, and smoothies from vertically integrated organic herb and apple operations, serving retail, bakery, and gastronomy customers in Switzerland and Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beverage Manufacturing

NAICS

Beverage Manufacturing (3121), Soft Drink and Ice Manufacturing (31211)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Bottled & Canned Soft Drinks & Carbonated Waters (2086)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Label Beverage Manufacturing (Retail/Brand-Owned Formulations) (AFAFAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Non-Alcoholic Beverage Concentrates, Syrups & Bases Manufacturing (AFAFABAM)

Keywords

• Private label beverages
• Organic iced tea
• Fruit juice production
• Beverage contract manufacturing
• Aseptic bottling services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oberbüren

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Private Label Beverage Manufacturing: Holderhof develops and produces beverages (iced tea, lemonades, spritzers, syrups, juices, smoothies, energy drinks, alcoholic beverages, apple products) under third-party private label brands. Customers select the product type, bottle format, and design their own label. Holderhof provides the recipe formulation, handles all production, filling, labelling, and logistics. This is the primary revenue driver, with the majority of over 1,200 produced article variations sold as private label products.
2. Own Brand Product Sales: Holderhof sells products under its own brands including Holderhof, Lacobi (traditional syrup brand), and Fruit Rules (smoothie brand). These are distributed through Swiss retail, farm shops, and export markets.
3. Direct Juice and Fruit Processing: Holderhof processes cider apples into direct (non-concentrate) apple juice, apple spritzers, apple puree, and applesauce at its Sulgen fruit processing centre. Processed fruit products are sold to other beverage producers or used internally. Waste pomace is sold as animal feed or used in biogas production.
4. Dried Herb Sales: Holderhof dries organic herbs (peppermint, lemon balm, sage, nettle, thyme, lemon thyme, dill, parsley, lovage, verbena, chamomile, yarrow, marigold, mallow) in its Ufhofen drying facility (capacity 100 tonnes/year). A portion is used internally in beverages; a large portion is resold to other food industry companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Holderhof Produkte AG is a Swiss family-owned beverage and food manufacturer that produces iced tea, lemonades, apple spritzers, syrups, fruit juices, smoothies, energy drinks, alcoholic beverages, and apple products (juice, puree, spritzers). The company operates a dual business model: selling under its own brands (Holderhof, Lacobi, Fruit Rules) and providing private label / contract beverage manufacturing for retailers, bakeries, hospitality businesses, and food service operators. Production covers over 70 million bottles annually across PET, glass, and can formats, with aseptic filling and direct (non-concentrate) juice processing capabilities.

Product overview

Holderhof Produkte AG is a Swiss family-owned food and beverage company operating under the tagline 'Vom Feld in die Flasche' (From Field to Bottle). The company manufactures a diverse portfolio of beverages and food products, divided into own-brand products and a private-label contract manufacturing service. The core beverage portfolio includes Ice Tea (Eistee), Lemonades & Spritzers, Holderhof Syrups, Lacobi Syrups, Fruit Juices & Smoothies (including Fruit Rules branded smoothies), Energy Drinks, Alcoholic Beverages, and Apple Products (juice, spritzers, puree). Specialty products include Ginger Shots. The private-label service (Private Label / Contract Manufacturing) is a key offering where Holderhof develops and produces custom beverages for third-party brands, handling everything from recipe development to bottling and labelling, with minimum orders of 5,000-10,000 bottles. The company integrates its own agricultural production (herbs, apples, elderflowers) with external supplier networks and modern processing facilities in Henau and Sulgen.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lacobi: Traditional syrup brand acquired and operated by Holderhof, offering syrups and punches.
• Fruit Rules

Products and services

• Ice Tea (Eistee) Iced tea beverages in various flavors including Alpine herb varieties, made with herbs from Holderhof's own organic cultivation; available under own brand and as private label for restaurants, bakeries, and retailers.
• Lemonades & Spritzers (Limonaden & Schorlen) Lemonades and apple spritzers, including apple spritzers with raspberries; apple spritzer typically contains 60% fruit juice and 40% water, usually carbonated.
• Holderhof Syrups (Sirupe Holderhof) Fruit syrups including raspberry, elderflower, and elderberry made without artificial preservatives using natural fruit concentrates with at least 64% sugar content for long-term preservation; available in bio and conventional quality.
• Lacobi Syrups (Sirupe Lacobi) Traditional syrup brand acquired by Holderhof, offering various syrup flavors produced under the historical Lacobi brand name.
• Fruit Juices & Smoothies (Fruchtsäfte & Smoothies) Direct fruit juices and smoothies, including apple juice and 'Fruit Rules' branded smoothies made with local apple puree from Sulgen and exotic fruits, available in Switzerland and internationally under private label in organic quality.
• Energy Drink Energy drink beverages produced under private label for customers.
• Alcoholic Beverages (Alkoholhaltige Getränke) Alcoholic beverages in the Holderhof product portfolio, available as own brand and private label.
• Apple Products (Apfelprodukte) Apple-based products including apple juice, apple spritzers, apple puree, and dried apple rings, produced from Swiss cider apples, table apples, and high-stem varieties at the Sulgen fruit processing centre.
• Ginger Shot (Ingwer-Shot) Bio ginger shots made from fresh ginger from Peru, containing natural gingerol for a characteristic spicy taste, sweetened with agave juice; available in small and large formats for Swiss and export markets.
• Private Label / Contract Beverage Manufacturing Custom beverage development and manufacturing service for third-party brands, including recipe development, raw material procurement, bottling in PET/glass/cans, labelling, and delivery; minimum orders of 5,000 bottles with existing recipes or 10,000 bottles for custom formulations; covers iced tea, juices, syrups, smoothies, cola, and other beverages.
• Apple Puree (Apfelmus) Organic apple puree processed at the Sulgen fruit processing centre, packaged in glass jars; produced for own label and as private label ingredient.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 70 million bottles filled per year across all production lines
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered innovation/trial, core and minor.

• Caterrainnovation/trialTechnology or Integration · 20 July 2025Holderhof signed a trial agreement with Swiss agritech startup Caterra (ETH Zurich spin-off) to test the 'Grasshopper' autonomous laser weeding robot on its organic herb fields at Ufhofen. Caterra's Grasshopper uses cameras and AI to distinguish weeds from crops, then eliminates weeds with laser beams. Holderhof provides its herb fields for image collection to train Caterra's algorithm (targeting 1,000–10,000 processed images) with first laser weed treatment expected in autumn 2025. The goal is to reduce manual weeding labour and enable autonomous weed control on wet soils where conventional machinery cannot operate.
• Keller Transporte AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Holderhof partnered with logistics company Keller Transporte AG in Bischofszell to acquire four Mercedes-Benz eActros electric trucks for product delivery. The partnership aims to electrify 90% of Holderhof's deliveries within two years, supporting the company's sustainability strategy. The trucks are operated by Keller Transporte while the volumes are dedicated to Holderhof.
• Fendt (via Traber Landmaschinenbetrieb AG and GVS Agrar AG)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Holderhof acquired Switzerland's first fully electric standard tractor, the Fendt e107 Vario, for use at its Ufhofen organic farm. The tractor is supplied through Swiss dealers Traber Landmaschinenbetrieb AG and GVS Agrar AG. It is used for herb harvesting, planting young plants, and soil harrowing. The electric tractor supports Holderhof's goal to reduce CO2 emissions in agricultural operations.
• Kronberg AGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKronberg AG (cable car and hospitality company at Kronberg in the Alpstein region) sells Holderhof-produced iced tea and apple spritzer under its own private label as 'Arnika Bio-Alpenkräuter Eistee' and 'Jacobi Bio-Äpfel Schorle'. The products feature Kronberg's branded etikettes with storytelling characters Arnika and Jacobi from Kronberg's fairy-tale world for children. Kronberg was awarded Swiss Location Award for best enjoyment locations. The partnership exemplifies Holderhof's private label model targeting regional hospitality businesses.
• Gartenbau Markus Neubauer (Erlen TG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss organic horticulture business Gartenbau Neubauer in Erlen TG (certified organic for 30+ years) grows organic herb seedlings for Holderhof under contract. Crops include verbena, nettle, lovage, applemint, and others. Approximately 60,000 verbena seedlings alone are grown each year and transplanted to Holderhof's Ufhofen fields in May. The partnership enables year-round seedling supply that would not be possible under Swiss open-field conditions alone.
• POB Leicht & Wetzler GmbHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArboriculture consultancy POB Leicht & Wetzler GmbH provided specialist advice on winter pruning techniques for Holderhof's 3-hectare cider apple orchard at Ufhofen. Expert Maximilian Nordmann consulted on contour cutting and pruning methods optimised for cider apple production (maximising yield on stiff wood, unlike table apple pruning).

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Refresco Group: Europe's largest independent private label beverage manufacturer with multi-country bottling capacity. Highly comparable to Holderhof because both serve retail and food service customers with private label soft drinks, juices, iced tea, and other non-alcoholic beverages, though at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Gerolsteiner Brunnen GmbH & Co. KG: Major German beverage producer (mineral water, soft drinks) supplying German LEH and food service. Comparable to Holderhof as a German retail-channel beverage incumbent with private label capability and broader portfolio scale, although focused on water rather than iced tea and lemonades.
• Cott Corporation: Global private label beverage manufacturer producing soft drinks, juices, and bottled water for retailers worldwide. Comparable to Holderhof as a pure-play private label beverage co-packer, though with North American and pan-European scale far exceeding Holderhof's Swiss/German footprint.
• Adelholzener Alpenquellen GmbH: German beverage company producing mineral water and private label soft drinks for German retail. Comparable to Holderhof as a German-market private label beverage supplier with focus on quality, regional sourcing, and clean-label positioning, though at a larger scale and broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• Ramseier Suisse AG: Swiss beverage manufacturer producing juices, cider, and soft drinks under own brands and private label. Comparable to Holderhof as the most direct Swiss-headquartered beverage competitor, overlapping on apple juice, cider, and lemonade categories with similar retail and food service distribution in Switzerland.
• Mosterei Möhl AG: Swiss apple juice and cider producer based in Arbon, Switzerland. Comparable to Holderhof as a Swiss-based apple processor using Swiss cider apples, with overlap on direct apple juice, apple spritzer, and cider categories and similar Swiss retail and food service channels.
• Sinalco GmbH: German private label and own-brand soft drink manufacturer producing lemonades, spritzers, and iced teas for retail chains. Direct comparable to Holderhof because both serve German food retail and bakery chains with private label beverages, use aseptic bottling, and target the mid-sized order segment that large multinationals underserve.
• Hövelmann Getränke: German family-owned beverage producer specialising in private label and own-brand soft drinks, juices, and spritzers. Highly comparable to Holderhof given the similar family-owned structure, German retail customer base, and private label focus on lemonades, apple spritzers, and juices.
• Bionade GmbH: German organic soft drink brand producing herbal lemonade variants. Comparable to Holderhof because both target organic, herbal, and clean-label positioning in the German retail market, though Bionade is primarily a brand-led play whereas Holderhof is private label-led.

Others

• Wild Flavors and Specialty Ingredients (Oetker Group): German ingredients and beverage systems supplier serving beverage manufacturers with flavours, syrups, and fruit preparations. Adjacent comparable to Holderhof because both operate in the beverage flavouring/syrup supply chain, with Wild supplying upstream ingredient systems while Holderhof uses similar inputs in its private label beverage formulations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/holderhofprodukte
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/holderhof-produkte-ag
• Instagraminstagram.com/holderhof.ch
• TikToktiktok.com/@holderhof

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Holderhof Products