Herbert Lugitsch u. Söhne Ges.mbH

What Herbert Lugitsch u. Söhne Ges.mbH does

Herbert Lugitsch u. Söhne Ges.mbH is a family-owned Austrian food and agricultural company headquartered in Gniebing-Weißenbach (Feldbach), Styria, founded in 1909. The company operates a unique closed value chain organized into three divisions: FARM (poultry breeding and fattening, including parent animal operations), FEED (compound feed production under the CornVit conventional and Vitakorn organic brands), and FOOD (poultry meat and egg processing, retail, and gastronomy distribution). It is the only Austrian company combining feed milling, poultry breeding/fattening, and food processing within a single integrated group, with ~150 contract partner farms producing eggs (Nestei), pullets (Henriette), chicks (Steirerkücken), and fattened poultry (Steirerhuhn).

The company's core products include conventional feed (CornVit, including CornVit TS Thermostruktur for hygienized feed), organic feed (Vitakorn, from Europe's first organic feed mill), branded fresh poultry (Steirerhuhn Klassik, Steirerhuhn Bio, and Steirerhuhn Gourmet — the latter launched in 2024 in partnership with SPAR Austria), organic young roosters (Steirerhahn Henry), young hens (Henriette), organic chicks (Steirerkücken), and eggs (Nestei). Proprietary technology includes the Gockelweb quality management system for full traceability, CornVit TS thermoconstructed feed technology, and a new micro-dosing plant at Vitakorn (2026) for precision organic feed production. Two research facilities (GZE and GZR) with cloud-based silo and stall management support continuous feeding and management optimization in partnership with BOKU.

The business model combines multiple revenue streams: B2B feed sales to contract farmers and agricultural customers, B2B poultry/egg sales to ~150 partner farms and food retail (notably SPAR Austria-wide since 2024), direct-to-consumer retail via the Geflügel-Frisch-Markt storefront, and gastronomy/hospitality supply. The company is privately held by the Lugitsch family (currently managed by Herbert Lugitsch jun., Dieter Lugitsch, and Marc Lugitsch), with no external funding. It maintains an extensive certification portfolio (ISO 9001, AMA Gütesiegel, AMA Bio, Naturland, Bio Austria, IFS Food, Donau Soja, KAT, Pastus plus, and SGS Gentechnikfrei) and was nominated for the TRIGOS Steiermark 2025 sustainability award for the Steirerhuhn Gourmet project.

Name

Herbert Lugitsch u. Söhne Ges.mbH

Legal name

Herbert Lugitsch u. Söhne Ges.mbH

Website

https://h.lugitsch.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1909

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Herbert Lugitsch u. Söhne Ges.mbH is a family-owned Austrian agricultural company operating a closed feed-to-food value chain (FARM, FEED, FOOD) serving contract farmers, SPAR retail, gastronomy, and direct consumers with branded poultry, eggs, and feed.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Poultry and Animal Feed Manufacturing

NAICS

Poultry Processing (311615), Poultry and Poultry Product Merchant Wholesalers (42444), Poultry and Poultry Product Merchant Wholesalers (424440), Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing (311991)

SIC

Poultry Slaughtering And Processing (2015), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Canned Meat, Poultry & Seafood Manufacturing (AFAKACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Poultry Wholesale (Whole Birds, Parts) (AFAIADAC), Meat, Poultry & Seafood Wholesale (AFAIABAF), Refrigerated/Chilled Foods Wholesale (Deli, Prepared, Fresh Pasta, etc.) (AFAIAHAB), Institutional Foodservice Distribution (Education, Healthcare, Government) (CRAOABAM)

Keywords

• Compound feed production
• Poultry farming
• Fresh poultry processing
• Organic animal feed
• Egg production

Headquarters

HQ city

Feldbach

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Feed Manufacturing & Sales: Production and sale of compound feeds under the CornVit brand (conventional) and vitakorn brand (organic certified). Feeds are sold to agricultural contract farmers and partner operations, generating recurring revenue from the farming customer base.
2. Poultry Breeding & Hatchery Sales: Sale of Steirerkücken (day-old chicks for organic broiler farms) and Henriette pullets (young laying hens) to partner farms, forming the upstream segment of the closed value chain.
3. Fresh Poultry & Egg Processing & Sales: Slaughtering, processing, and sale of fresh poultry products under Steirerhuhn (Original, Bio, Gourmet), Steirerhahn Henry, and Nestei egg brand through the Geflügel-Frisch-Markt retail location, regional retailers, and gastronomy.
4. Direct Retail (Geflügel-Frisch-Markt): Brick-and-mortar retail storefront selling fresh poultry, eggs, regional produce, and prepared items (grill chickens, liver cheese, sausages) directly to end consumers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Herbert Lugitsch u. Söhne Ges.mbH operates a closed-loop Austrian poultry and feed value chain spanning three divisions: FEED (compound feed production under the CornVit conventional and Vitakorn organic brands), FARM (poultry breeding and husbandry under Steirerkücken chicks, Henriette pullets, and Steirerhahn roosters), and FOOD (fresh poultry meat and eggs under the Steirerhuhn and Nestei brands). The company is Austria's only operator integrating feed milling, poultry breeding/fattening via regional contract farmers, and slaughtering/processing/retail under one roof, distributing through its own Geflügel-Frisch-Markt storefront, SPAR Austria, gastronomy partners, and the Gurkerl.at online grocery platform.

Product overview

Herbert Lugitsch u. Söhne Ges.mbH operates as an integrated Austrian food company with three interconnected divisions: FARM (poultry breeding and keeping), FEED (feed production), and FOOD (poultry meat and eggs). The company runs a unique closed value chain in Austria where the feed mill and poultry farm cooperate with regional contract farmers. Key products include the Steirerhuhn poultry brand with three tiers (Klassik, Bio, and Gourmet), Steirerhahn Henry organic roosters, Henriette young laying hens, Steirerkücken organic chicks, CornVit conventional feed with CornVital minerals and CornVit TS thermstructured feed, Vitakorn organic feed (Europe's first organic feed mill), and Nestei eggs from animal-friendly husbandry. The company also operates a Geflügel-Frisch-Markt retail outlet and uses its proprietary Gockelweb quality management system for full traceability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Steirerhuhn: Austrian poultry brand including Steirerhuhn Klassik (original), Steirerhuhn Gourmet (premium with outdoor access), and Steirerhuhn Bio (organic)
• Steirerhahn Henry
• Henriette
• Nestei
• CornVit
• Vitakorn
• Steirerkücken
• Gockelweb

Products and services

• Steirerhuhn

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced crude protein and phosphorus in feed for broiler fattening, leading to lower nitrogen and phosphorus emissions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SPAR AustriacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2024Austria's leading supermarket chain. Since 2024, distributes Steirerhuhn Gourmet as SPAR Premium Weide-Hendl Austria-wide. This is the first conventionally fed chicken with direct meadow access sold in Austrian retail.
• DLS Eierlogistik GmbH & Co KGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001Egg logistics company founded in 2001 and headquartered in Nestelbach. Operates the collection and distribution logistics for Nestei eggs from ~150 partner farms to the distribution center.
• Vitakorn Biofuttermittel Ges.mbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000Bio feed mill founded in 2000 as Austria's first pure organic feed mill. Herbert Lugitsch jun. co-founded vitakorn. The company processes only certified organic raw materials and serves as the exclusive supplier of organic feed for Lugitsch's bio poultry operations.
• Nest-Eier Handelsgesellschaft m.b.H. (Nestei)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEgg trading company founded ~25 years ago together with Wiener Tierschutz (Vienna Animal Protection). Headquartered in Nestelbach. Produces and sells eggs from barn, free-range, and organic free-range systems. Represents the egg segment of the Lugitsch group.
• University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific cooperation for research projects conducted at the Geflügelzucht Raabtal (GZR) and Geflügelzucht Eichkögl (GZE) research facilities. BOKU provides scientific oversight ensuring professional methodology and transparency in feeding and management experiments.
• SGS Austria Controll-Co. GesmbHminorOthersIndependent inspection and certification body conducting regular controls of feed and food products. Certifies organic status (Bio), genetic engineering-free status (Gentechnikfrei), feed safety (Pastus plus), and other quality standards.
• Hotel und Wirtshaus Hödl-KaplanminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional hotel and restaurant in Feldbach, featured in the Lugitsch Journal as a partner restaurant using Steirerhuhn. Offers grilled chicken and regional cuisine including Vulkanland Kebab from Steirerhuhn.
• Regional Contract Farmers (Bäuerliche Partnerbetriebe)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApproximately 150+ regional agricultural contract farms partner with Lugitsch for egg production (Nestei), poultry breeding (Henriette, Steirerkücken), and fattening (Steirerhuhn). Farmers receive chicks/feed, technical consulting, and guaranteed offtake. Supports preservation of small-scale Styrian agriculture.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Wech Geflügel: Austrian poultry slaughterhouse and processor supplying fresh and frozen poultry to Austrian retail and foodservice. Comparable Austrian poultry slaughtering and processing operation competing in overlapping customer segments.
• Erzeugergemeinschaft Gut Streitdorf: Austrian poultry producer cooperative with integrated breeding, hatching, and processing. Most directly comparable business model to Lugitsch's contract-farmer network and Steirerhuhn-style Austrian-origin poultry.
• Schirnhofer GmbH: Austrian poultry and sausage producer operating slaughtering, processing, and branded fresh poultry (similar to Steirerhuhn) plus retail food products. Closest comparable in size, geography, and integrated Austrian poultry category.
• Wiesbauer GmbH: Austrian meat and sausage manufacturer with proprietary brands, foodservice supply (similar to Lugitsch's gastronomy channel), and regional retail presence. Closely comparable premium meat processor in the Austrian market.
• Garant Tiernahrung: Austrian animal feed manufacturer serving livestock farmers with compound feeds. Direct comparable to Lugitsch's CornVit and Vitakorn feed business, operating in the same Austrian/German-speaking feed market with similar agricultural customer base.
• Huber Wurst GmbH (Huber's Landmetzgerei): Austrian family-owned meat processor with integrated production and direct retail counters. Comparable family-business model with regional Austrian focus on premium meat products and on-site retail distribution.

Broad incumbents

• De Heus Animal Nutrition: Dutch-headquartered global animal feed manufacturer with operations across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Comparable compound-feed formulation and livestock nutrition products serving agricultural customers in overlapping European geographies.
• PHW Group (Wiesenhof): Germany's largest poultry integrator with Wiesenhof as the leading retail brand. Comparable vertically integrated poultry and feed operations with national DACH retail distribution, though at substantially larger scale than Lugitsch.
• Plukon Food Group: One of Europe's largest poultry processors operating across multiple countries with broad retail and foodservice portfolios. Comparable poultry slaughtering, processing, and value-added poultry products, but at significantly greater scale and across broader geographies.
• Cargill Animal Nutrition: Global animal feed and nutrition business with European compound-feed operations serving poultry, swine, and ruminant producers. Comparable feed-manufacturing activity supplying European agricultural customers at global scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/herbert-lugitsch-u.-s%C3%B6hne

Compliance13 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 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 →

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