Krings Obstbau Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG

What Krings Obstbau Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG does

Krings Obstbau Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG is a third-generation, family-owned German producer, packer, and trader of fresh fruit, headquartered in Rheinbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The company cultivates 150 hectares of apple orchards producing approximately 5,000 tonnes annually and operates a 40,000 sqm packing and storage station with capacity for 27,000 Großkisten. Its fleet of more than 40 refrigerated, GPS-monitored trucks moves 1,000 to 2,000 pallets per day, supporting both own-produce marketing and contract packing and logistics for third-party growers.

The business serves primarily the German Lebensmitteleinzelhandel, with REWE Group named as a customer, and exports to France, Benelux, Spain, Italy, the UK, Greece, and the USA. Krings markets proprietary and licensed apple brands including KRINGS Der Apfel, KRINGS Kinderapfel, Honey Crunch, Morgana, and My Lord, and runs a 2011 joint venture, RheinBioFrucht GmbH, for organic apples and pears. The assortment spans more than 20 apple varieties plus stone fruit, citrus, and vegetables, supported by a certification stack covering IFS, QS, EU-Öko, Naturland, Bioland, and Regionalfenster. Founded in 1955 by Wilhelm Krings, the company is now led by Wilfried and Alexander Krings and employs roughly 140 people across four subsidiaries.

Revenue is generated through a mix of own-orchard apple sales, third-party produce trading, contract packing and cold-storage services, and brand-licensed apple varieties. Go-to-market is B2B wholesale into retailer category-management programs, with consumer-brand pull-through via the Krings-owned and exclusive SKUs and consumer marketing events such as the Rheinbach Marathon sponsorship. Pricing is set within retailer annual category negotiations, and export markets provide geographic diversification on top of the German retail base.

Name

Krings Obstbau Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG

Legal name

KRINGS Obstbau Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://w-krings.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Krings is a third-generation German family-owned producer, packer, and wholesale trader of fresh fruit, primarily apples, supplying German food retailers such as REWE Group and exporting across Europe and to the USA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fresh Fruit and Produce Distribution

NAICS

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (424480)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Fresh Produce Wholesale (Fruit & Vegetables) (AFAIABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fresh Produce Packhouses (Fruits & Vegetables) (AFAOAGAA)

Keywords

• Fresh fruit production
• Apple cultivation
• Cold chain logistics
• Produce sorting packaging
• Organic fruit distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Rheinbach

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Fruit and Vegetable Production: Own fruit cultivation on 150 ha producing approximately 5,000 tonnes of apples annually. Production distributed across two locations in Rheinbach and Vorgebirge.
2. Sorting, Packaging and Processing: Professional sorting, confectioning and packaging services for fruits and vegetables. Provides packaging in various formats including nets, foodtrainer, flowpack, girsack, trays, and bags. Also offers packaging design services.
3. Logistics and Transportation: Daily transport operations with 40+ refrigerated units. Up to 2,000 daily pallet positions transported throughout Germany, Benelux and England. Includes customs clearance services.
4. Storage and Warehousing: Modern packing and storage station providing temperature-controlled storage and commission services. 40,000 m² facility with 10,000 m² hall capacity.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Krings Obstbau Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG is the sales and trading arm of the KRINGS Group, a vertically integrated fruit producer operating 150 ha of apple orchards in the Rheinland region (approximately 5,000 tonnes annually). The company cultivates, sorts, packages, stores, and transports fresh fruit and vegetables to German and European food retailers through a fleet of 40 GPS-monitored refrigerated trucks, a 40,000 m² pack-and-storage station with 27,000 crate capacity, and 3 modern sorting systems.

Product overview

Krings Obstbau Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG is a fruit and vegetable trading company operating as part of the KRINGS Group enterprise. The company offers a vertically integrated service model combining own fruit cultivation (150 ha apple plantations producing ~5,000 tonnes), professional sorting and packaging, cold storage warehousing (27,000 crates capacity), refrigerated logistics (40 trucks), and comprehensive quality control. Their product portfolio centers on proprietary apple brands (KRINGS Der Apfel, KRINGS Kinderapfel) alongside exclusive partnerships (Honey Crunch, Morgana, My Lord, Five A Week) plus diversified offerings in stone fruit, citrus, vegetables, and organic produce through subsidiary RheinBioFrucht GmbH. The company serves the German retail sector with an integrated farm-to-store solution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KRINGS DerApfel: Apple brand product line
• KRINGS Kinderäpfel
• Morgana
• My Lord
• Honey Crunch
• KRINGS Regional

Products and services

• Apple Varieties Portfolio Comprehensive apple variety portfolio comprising 20+ varieties including Belgica, Honey Crunch, Boskoop, Braeburn, Cox Orange, Delbarestivale, Elstar, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Greenstar, Idared, Jonagold, Pinova, Jazz, Pink Lady, Pink Gold, Red Chief, Gloster, Granny Smith, and Roter Berlepsch. Sourced from own 150 ha plantations and partner growers for retail distribution.
• Stone Fruit Range Seasonal stone fruit offering including peaches, flat peaches, plums, strawberries, currants, and grapes sourced from regional and international suppliers for retail distribution.
• Citrus Products Citrus products including lemons and mandarins sourced from international suppliers and distributed through the group's refrigerated logistics network.
• Fresh Vegetables Vegetable products including chicory sourced from regional suppliers for retail distribution.
• Organic Apples and Pears Certified organic apples and pears grown by subsidiary RheinBioFrucht GmbH (founded 2011), Naturland certified, marketed under the RheinBioFrucht brand.
• KRINGS Der Apfel Brand Company's proprietary apple brand featuring apples sourced from own 150 ha plantations in the Rheinland region.
• KRINGS Kinderapfel Brand Children's apple brand featuring smaller-sized Elstar variety apples, marketed as kid-friendly snacks for retail distribution.
• Honey Crunch Apple Variety Partner brand apple variety under licensed partnership, known for exceptional fruit flesh properties: sweet, extremely juicy and very crunchy. Available mid-September to April.
• Morgana Apple Variety Partner apple brand under exclusive distribution partnership for premium apple varieties.
• My Lord Apple Variety Exclusive brand for Red Chief apple variety with aromatic light yellow flesh and mild, low-acid taste profile, marketed under MyLord brand.
• Sorting and Packaging Services Professional sorting, confectioning, and packaging services using 3 modern sorting lines (15 lanes and 6 lanes) capable of exact pre-sorting by color percentage, size, and external defects. Packaging formats include nets, foodtrainer, flowpack, girsack, trays, and bags; packaging design services also offered.
• Cold Storage and Warehousing Temperature-controlled storage at a 40,000 m² packing and storage station with 10,000 m² hall capacity and capacity for 27,000 large crates (Großkisten), plus commission and customs clearance services.
• Refrigerated Transport and Logistics Daily transport operations with 40+ own GPS-monitored refrigerated trucks, delivering up to 2,000 pallet positions daily throughout Germany, Benelux, England, and other international markets. Includes customs clearance services.
• Quality Management and Cultivation Control Comprehensive quality management services throughout the value chain, staffed by 8 dedicated quality management and cultivation control personnel, including QS assessments, residue analysis, and external expert opinions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual production capacity of 5,000 tonnes of apples from 150 ha
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RheinBioFrucht GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Joint venture founded by Wilfried Krings (Rheinbach) and Andreas Mager (Alfter) in 2011. Produces organic apples and pears certified under Naturland. Operates as separate organic produce division of the group.
• Honey CrunchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensed variety partnership for Honey Crunch apple variety. Large-fruited variety with 30-40% bright red coloring on fruit surface. Available mid-September to April. Known for exceptional crispness and juiciness.
• Five a WeekminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrand partnership for produce marketing and consumer awareness.
• My Lord (MyLord)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensed variety partnership for Red Chief apple marketed under MyLord brand. Dark red skin with yellowish, aromatic flesh. Sweet with low acidity.
• MorganacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensed apple variety partnership. Morgana apple variety marketed through the company.
• KRINGS Der ApfelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany's own proprietary apple brand. Krings Kinderapfel (children's apple) sub-brand also marketed.
• REWE GroupcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor German food retail customer. Partnership includes sponsorship of Köln-Marathon events, supplying 5,000 apples to runners. Regular press coverage in REWE's OneMagazin.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BayWa AG: German agricultural conglomerate with significant fruit and vegetable sourcing and trading operations. Overlaps with Krings in German produce wholesale and orchard operations, but operates across much wider agriculture, energy and building materials segments.
• Bonduelle Group: France-headquartered global player in canned, frozen and fresh processed vegetables serving European retailers and foodservice. Comparable European fresh-produce supplier footprint but focused on processed vegetables rather than fresh apples.
• Greenyard NV: Belgian-listed fresh, frozen and prepared produce supplier with pan-European distribution to major retailers. Comparable business model and customer overlap (large European grocery), but significantly larger scale and broader category breadth.
• Total Produce / Dole plc: Global fresh produce group formed by merger of Total Produce and Dole, supplying European and international retailers with fruits and vegetables. Comparable core activity in fresh produce distribution at substantially greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. Vertically integrated global producer, distributor and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables. Comparable in fresh produce distribution to European and international retailers, but at global scale and with banana/pineapple-led portfolio rather than apples.

Direct peers

• Landgard eG: German producer cooperative for flowers, plants, fruits and vegetables serving German LEH with similar packhouse, cold storage, and sorting operations. Directly comparable vertically integrated produce wholesaler in the German market.
• Obst vom Bodensee Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH: Marketing organization for fruit growers around Lake Constance (Bodensee), one of Germany's main pome-fruit regions. Directly comparable German apple and pear supplier serving national retail with cooperative grower structure.
• Elbe-Obst Erzeugerorganisation r.V. German apple and fruit producer organization in the Altes Land region marketing members' fruit to German retailers. Direct comparability as a German apple and pome-fruit supplier, though structured as a cooperative of growers rather than an integrated private operator.
• Edeka Fruchtkontor GmbH: Central fresh produce procurement and distribution arm of the Edeka retailer group in Germany. Direct comparability as a vertically integrated German fresh produce supplier to a major national grocery chain, with similar packhouse and logistics structure.

Emerging players

• Naturkost Schramm GmbH & Co. KG: German organic fruit and vegetable wholesaler supplying natural food retailers and organic LEH lines. Comparable organic produce wholesale to retail, with overlap on the organic sub-brand via RheinBioFrucht, though Naturkost Schramm is organic-only.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=CZiL0sqfsZ8
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/krings-obstbau-vertriebs-gmbh-&-co.-kg

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Krings Obstbau Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG