Reinhart

What Reinhart does

Reinhart (legal entity: Paul Reinhart AG, registered in Canton of Zurich under CHE-116.284.789) is a Swiss-headquartered global merchant of agricultural commodities, founded in 1788 in Winterthur and continuously owned by the Reinhart family into its seventh and eighth generation. It is recognised as the oldest cotton merchant in the world and self-describes as one of the leading cotton merchants globally, historically the largest merchant of exotic and extra-long staple (ELS) cotton growths. The core business is physical cotton trading: Reinhart buys raw cotton from growers and ginners across all major exporting countries (US, Brazil, Australia, India, China, Egypt, West and East Africa, Greece) and sells to textile mills and spinning operations worldwide. Adjacent commodity lines include certified and sustainable cotton across multiple schemes (Better Cotton, Cotton made in Africa, GOTS, Fairtrade, USCTP, regenagri, OCS, myBMP), cocoa sourcing through acquired subsidiary Minka SCS AG (added July 2023; export operations in Peru, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Uganda and DR Congo), and pulses, oilseeds and nuts via regional subsidiaries in Dubai, India and China.

Revenue is generated through trading margins (transaction-fee model): the firm buys and sells for own account, providing supply-chain financing, logistics, ginning participation in Africa and increasingly certification-and-traceability services. The go-to-market is sales-led and direct: long-tenured relationship managers and country heads (such as Mithun Das in Dubai, Paresh Kanani in India, Tiffany Zhang in Beijing) cover enterprise buyers without intermediaries. The customer base is enterprise across three horizontal segments (textile, chocolate, food processing) plus a growing sustainable/organic brand sub-segment that includes BESTSELLER as a named buyer. Differential technology includes physical-segregation and DNA-marking traceability, the Cotton4Impact smallholder digitalization project covering over 100,000 producers, and a 2024 weather-intelligence integration with Meteomatics. Operations span ten wholly-owned offices across Switzerland, China, India, Brazil, Australia, USA, Greece, Egypt, UAE and Ivory Coast, supported by nearly 250 employees globally.

Name

Reinhart

Legal name

Paul Reinhart AG

Website

https://reinhart.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1788

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Reinhart (Paul Reinhart AG) is a Winterthur-headquartered, family-owned global merchant (founded 1788) that sources and markets cotton, cocoa and pulses/oilseeds/nuts for enterprise buyers such as textile mills, spinning operations, chocolate makers and food processors across all five continents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Commodities Trading

NAICS

Other Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers (424590), Grain and Field Bean Merchant Wholesalers (424510)

SIC

Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable & Certified Materials (Organic, Recycled, Traceable) (CRAAAMAK)

Keywords

• Cotton trading
• Cocoa sourcing
• Agricultural commodities
• Sustainable cotton
• Pulses oilseeds trading

Headquarters

HQ city

Winterthur

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cotton Trading: Buy and sell raw cotton for own account as a global merchant. Sources cotton from all exporting countries and markets it to textile manufacturers worldwide. Revenue generated through price differentials and trading margins.
2. Cocoa Trading (via MINKA SCS AG): Sourcing and marketing cocoa beans to chocolate makers and cocoa processing industry globally through acquired subsidiary MINKA SCS AG.
3. Pulses, Oilseeds & Nuts Trading: Sourcing and marketing raw agricultural products including chickpeas, cashew nuts, sesame, soybeans, and other niche products through subsidiaries in Dubai, India, and China.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Reinhart is a global merchant that sources and markets raw agricultural commodities — primarily cotton (including certified/sustainable cotton and Extra-Long Staple cotton), cocoa beans, and pulses, oilseeds and nuts — connecting producers in originating countries with industrial buyers such as textile mills, spinning mills, chocolate makers and food processors worldwide. The company trades for its own account, earning margins on price differentials, and participates in ginning operations, certification programs and supply chain traceability initiatives to ensure quality and sustainability from farm to customer.

Product overview

Reinhart is a global merchant of agricultural commodities operating since 1788. The company's core offerings include cotton trading (the oldest and leading cotton merchant globally), certified and sustainable cotton products, extra-long staple cotton, cocoa sourcing through its acquired subsidiary Minka SCS AG, and pulses, oilseeds and nuts. The company serves as an intermediary throughout agricultural supply chains from farmers to textile manufacturers and chocolate makers, with operations spanning all five continents and headquarters in Winterthur, Switzerland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Minka SCS AG: Cocoa sourcing company acquired by Reinhart in 2023. Founded in 2012 in Winterthur, Switzerland, by Stefan Bloch and Paul Schönenberger. Operates as multi-origin exporter with companies in Peru (SUMAQAO), Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Products and services

• Cotton Trading Global sourcing and marketing of raw cotton from all exporting countries to textile manufacturers and spinning mills worldwide; includes participation in cotton ginning operations in Africa for quality control.
• Certified Cotton Certified and organic cotton sourced under standards including Better Cotton, Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), GOTS, Fairtrade, US Cotton Trust Protocol, regenagri, myBMP and Organic Content Standard (OCS), with full supply chain traceability.
• Extra-Long Staple (ELS) Cotton Trading of Extra-Long Staple cotton for over 100 years, sourced from California (Pima), Egypt (Nile Delta), China (Xinjiang), India and other producing regions, serving manufacturers of high-quality fine count yarns for shirting and sheeting.
• Cocoa Sourcing

Quantifiable outcome

• Committed to procure close to fifty percent of cotton from certified sources until 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• MeteomaticsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaboration with Meteomatics providing weather insights to improve farming operations in regions where Alliance Ginneries Ltd operates in Tanzania and Zambia.
• Minka SCS AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023In July 2023, Reinhart acquired Minka SCS AG, a Winterthur-based cocoa sourcing company. Minka was founded in 2012 by Stefan Bloch and Paul Schönenberger and operates as a multi-origin exporter with operations in Peru, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of Congo. Adrian Reinhart joined the board of management alongside Bloch and Schönenberger.
• Alliance Ginneries LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership with Alliance Ginneries Ltd in Tanzania for the Cotton4Impact digitalization project. The collaboration includes Haelixa for DNA-based traceability and supports over 100,000 small-scale producers.
• Ivoire CotoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership with Ivoire Coton in Ivory Coast for the three-year Cotton4Impact digitalization project, providing large-scale demographic data from over 100,000 small-scale producers.
• Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UKminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership with PAN UK, Aid by Trade Foundation and Reinhart for the three-year Benin Organic Cotton Project supporting smallholder farmers in converting to organic farming.
• African Cotton Foundation (ACF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Co-founded the African Cotton Foundation in 2018 to support improving the livelihood-conditions of smallholder cotton farmers.
• Better Cotton (BC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Joined Better Cotton, which was initially founded by large retailers and non-governmental organizations. Reinhart is one of the top cotton merchants by sourcing volume according to BC and sources through main BC sourcing regions in Brazil, Australia, USA and East-/West Africa.
• Cotton made in Africa (CmiA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Partnership with Cotton made in Africa, an internationally recognized standard and certification label for sustainable African cotton, and the Aid by Trade Foundation. Reinhart began partnering with CmiA in 2012.
• Textile ExchangecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Joined Textile Exchange, a nonprofit that supports textile companies seeking greater sustainability. Reinhart participates in their Organic Content Standard (OCS) program.
• HaelixacoreTechnology or IntegrationHaelixa visited Alliance Ginneries Ltd with support of Reinhart to install an automated cotton marking system for forensic traceability of organic cotton, enabling visibility across the supply chain up to finished garments.
• US Cotton Trust ProtocolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoined the US Cotton Trust Protocol to broaden the spectrum of certified cotton offerings.
• regenagricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoined regenagri to support regenerative agriculture practices and broaden certified cotton offerings according to upcoming market demand.
• GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipates in GOTS certification for organic cotton sourcing.
• FAIRTRADEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipates in Fairtrade certification for sustainable and fair cotton sourcing.
• ICA (International Cotton Association)coreOthersMember of ICA, the International Cotton Association.
• AfcotminorOthersMember of Afcot.
• ACSA (Australian Cotton Shippers Association)minorOthersMember of ACSA.
• Bremen Baumwollbörse (BBB)minorOthersMember of Bremen Baumwollbörse.
• Cotton Egypt AssociationcoreOthersMember of Cotton Egypt Association.
• Texprocil (Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council)minorOthersMember of Texprocil.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cofco International: Chinese-headquartered global agricultural commodity trader with cotton, grains, and oilseeds operations. Direct competitor to Reinhart in cotton sourcing and marketing, particularly from China and emerging markets.
• Glencore Agriculture (Viterra): Global agricultural commodity trader (formerly Glencore Agriculture, now Viterra) with cotton, grains, and oilseed operations. A broad incumbent peer competing with Reinhart in cotton origination.
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): Global agricultural processor and trader with significant origination, oilseeds, and cocoa businesses. Overlaps with Reinhart in oilseeds, pulses, and cocoa trading through Minka.
• Bunge Global: Major agricultural commodity merchant and processor with oilseeds, grains, and origination networks. Overlaps with Reinhart's pulses and oilseeds trading business.
• Cargill: One of the largest privately held agricultural commodity traders globally, with significant cotton, cocoa, and grain operations. A broad incumbent that competes with Reinhart across multiple commodity verticals including cotton and cocoa.
• Olam Agri: Large-scale agricultural commodity merchant with cotton, cocoa, coffee, and nuts divisions, restructured under Olam Group. Competes with Reinhart in cotton and pulses/oilseeds origination and processing.

Direct peers

• Sucden (Sucres & Denrées): French-headquartered commodity merchant active in cocoa, sugar, and cotton. Particularly relevant as a peer for Reinhart's cocoa business through Minka SCS AG and for cotton trading.
• Louis Dreyfus Company: One of the ABCD majors and a leading global cotton and agricultural commodity merchant. Closest comparable to Reinhart in merchanting model across cotton, cocoa, and other soft commodities, though at much larger scale and with broader origination footprint.
• ECOM Agroindustrial: Global merchant of cotton, cocoa, and coffee with multi-origin origination and sustainable certification programs. A direct peer to Reinhart in cotton trading and now in cocoa following Minka SCS AG acquisition.

Regional players

• ITOCHU Corporation: Japanese general trading company (sogo shosha) with a textile and cotton trading division that competes with Reinhart in cotton sourcing and marketing, particularly from Asian origins.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reinhart1788

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries8 records

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 Reinhart