Backhaus Dries

What Backhaus Dries does

Backhaus Dries GmbH, operating under the brand Bäcker Dries, is a family-owned artisan bakery founded in 1896 in Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany. The company produces and sells a wide range of handcrafted baked goods — artisan breads (spelt, rye, multi-grain, specialty loaves such as Monte Preso and Traubenkernbrot), rolls and buns, seasonal pastries, and a proprietary single-origin Tanzanian coffee brand — through 27 retail branches distributed across the Rheingau, Taunus, and Wiesbaden regions. Distribution combines company-owned BÄCKERMEISTER flagship stores, Backstubenladen outlets, bistro locations, and in-store concessions within REWE and Tegut supermarkets. The customer base is predominantly local consumers seeking traditional handcrafted quality over industrial alternatives, with the proprietary BÄCKER DRIES App functioning as a digital loyalty, ordering, and payment layer rather than a stand-alone product.

The business is led by brothers Stefan Dries (Master Baker and Head of Production) and Martin Dries (Head of Sales), alongside managing director Andrea Engelmann, with no external institutional investors or PE/VC backing. The company employs approximately 300 people, including 21 apprentices on the Lehre++ training program, and reports 1,739 cumulative years of in-house experience. Revenue is generated almost exclusively through direct-to-consumer retail sales of baked goods and beverages, with no disclosed pricing tiers and no subscription or licensing model. Recognitions include Der Feinschmecker's Top 50 Bakeries in Germany (2013, 2024), the Marktkieker Innovationspreis from Back Journal, and multiple 'sehr gut' product certifications from the Deutsches Brotinstitut. The technology stack is intentionally modest: a proprietary mobile app powered by commodity integrations (Nexi payments, Mailjet email, Google Firebase push, Google Analytics) and traditional extended dough-resting methods exceeding 24 hours.

Name

Backhaus Dries

Legal name

Backhaus Dries GmbH

Website

https://baecker-dries.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1896

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Backhaus Dries is a family-owned artisan bakery founded in 1896, operating 27 retail branches across the Rheingau, Taunus, and Wiesbaden regions of Germany, serving local consumers with handcrafted breads, rolls, pastries, and a proprietary Tanzanian coffee brand through its own stores and REWE/Tegut supermarket concessions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Bakery

NAICS

Retail Bakeries (311811), Baked Goods Retailers (445291)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAFAFAA

Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery)

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Bakeries & Patisseries

SECONDARYTHAFAFAG

Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice)

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Bakeries & Patisseries

SECONDARYCRAHAGAC

Bread & Pastry Specialty Stores

Consumer Products & Retail/Grocery & Food Retail/Specialty Food Stores (Deli, Cheese, Gourmet, Bakery)

Keywords

• Artisan bakery products
• Traditional baked goods
• Bread and pastries
• Regional bakery chain
• Specialty coffee retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Rüdesheim Am Rhein

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Bakery Product Sales: Direct retail sales of freshly baked bread, rolls, pastries, and seasonal items through 27 company-owned and partner retail locations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Backhaus Dries is a traditional artisan bakery that produces and retails a wide range of handcrafted breads, rolls, pastries, seasonal and festival-limited Gebäck, and a proprietary single-origin Tanzanian coffee. It sells these products through 27 owned retail branches, bistros, and in-store branches within REWE and Tegut supermarkets across the Rheingau, Taunus, Wiesbaden and Mainz-Kostheim regions, with customer engagement supported by a proprietary mobile loyalty and ordering app.

Product overview

Backhaus Dries is a family-owned artisan bakery founded in 1896, operating 27 branches across the Rheingau, Taunus, and Wiesbaden regions with approximately 270–300 employees. Its core product offering consists of traditional handcrafted baked goods — a diverse bread range (including spelt, dinkel, rye, multi-grain, and specialty breads like Monte Preso and Traubenkernbrot), a wide rolls/buns range (notably the Nr. 1 Brötchen and Jubi), seasonal and festival pastries, and a proprietary single-origin Tanzanian coffee (Café Crema, Espresso, Filterkaffee). These products are complemented by the BÄCKER DRIES App, a digital loyalty and payment platform offering a digital customer card, in-app ordering, digital payments, personalized coupons, and push notifications, which drives customer engagement across the physical branch network. The company also runs the 'Lehre++' apprenticeship program for training future bakers and retail staff.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brot-Sortiment (Artisan Bread Range)

Quantifiable outcome

• Named one of 50 best bakeries in Germany by Der Feinschmecker (2024)
• +2 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

Integration5 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Machare Estate FarmcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Direct-trade coffee partnership with Tanzanian coffee farm at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Owner Martin Dries visited personally to verify sustainable practices and social standards. Farm provides shade-grown Arabica Bourbon (N39) variety, washed processing, grown at 1,350-1,550m altitude. Bente Luther, the farm owner, supports local community projects including biogas systems, water supply, and training for small coffee farmers.
• Rheingau Musik FestivalflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Long-term annual partnership producing exclusive festival pastries. Past creations include 'Die Flöte' (2018), 'Potpourri' (2022), 'Das Festival-Gebäck' (2023), and 'Die Flöte' (2024). Products sold at all Bäcker Dries locations and at concert evenings. Joint Gewinnspiel (sweepstakes) promotions with weekly prizes.
• Stiftung Nachhaltiger RheingaucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation member supporting environmental projects for nature conservation and landscape maintenance in the Rheingau forest, particularly reforestation efforts.
• Bundesfachschule für Bäcker WeinheimminorOthersTraining partner for apprentice development. Bäcker Dries apprentices attend seminars twice per year at the Federal Professional School for Bakers.
• Bäko WiesbadenminorOthersRegional baking ingredients supplier visited as part of the Lehre++ apprentice program for hands-on industry education.
• Schwälbchen MolkereiminorOthersDairy products supplier visited as part of the Lehre++ apprentice program for supply chain education.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kamps Backstuben: Large national German bakery chain with hundreds of branches across multiple regions. A broad incumbent offering overlapping retail bakery products but at larger scale and with broader geographic coverage than Backhaus Dries.
• Lieken Brot- und Backwaren: Industrial German bakery manufacturer producing packaged bread for major grocery retailers. Represents the mass-market competitive alternative to traditional artisan bakeries in the same product category.
• Harry-Brot: One of Germany's largest industrial bakery manufacturers supplying retail chains. A broad incumbent producing bread at industrial scale that competes with artisan bakeries like Backhaus Dries through grocery channels.

Direct peers

• Hofpfisterei: Munich-based organic artisan bakery with multiple retail branches across Bavaria. Comparable to Backhaus Dries through its emphasis on traditional craftsmanship, regional organic sourcing, and direct-to-consumer bakery retail.
• Junge Die Bäckerei: One of Germany's largest traditional bakery chains with regional concentration in northern Germany. Operates owned retail branches selling handcrafted bread, rolls, and pastries with in-house production, directly comparable to Backhaus Dries' artisan multi-branch model.
• Le Crobag: German cafe-bakery chain specializing in croissants and pastries with cafe seating at high-traffic locations (train stations, airports). Comparable to Backhaus Dries' cafe-bistro format and coffee-pastry offering.
• Ditsch: German bakery chain specializing in pretzels and lye-baked products with both retail branches and train-station kiosks. Comparable artisan bakery retail model with focus on a specific traditional product category.
• Schäfer's Brot- und Kuchenspezialitäten: German regional bakery chain operating multiple bakery-cafes in northern and western Germany. Closely comparable business model combining handcrafted bakery production with retail storefronts and cafe seating.
• BackWerk: German self-service bakery chain offering fresh-baked products at discount prices. Competes for the same daily-bread consumer occasion as Backhaus Dries but operates a fundamentally different price-and-format model.

Regional players

• Mlinar: Croatian-origin bakery chain expanding across Central Europe with retail branches selling fresh bread and pastries. Comparable artisan bakery retail model but operating primarily in different geographies (Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Germany).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/baeckerdries
• Instagraminstagram.com/baeckerdries

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Backhaus Dries