Since 1919 the fruits of nature have been our passion. It is the history of the journey from a small herb seller to a global company in which tradition meets modernity. While the herbs were processed by hand in the early years, this is nowadays done by modern high-performance plants on which several thousands tons of herbal raw materials are processed every year. Come along on a trip through an eventful century.
On April 1 Christoph Mix, the (great-)grandfather of the current company owners, founded the company in Abtswind. The object of business, according to the document of the Chamber of Craft Trades, is the cultivation of and trade with medicinal plants. Peppermint and valerian soon grow in large quantities on the fields around Abtswind.
Because business with medicinal herbs is flourishing, the young company soon reaches its limits. The erection of a new larger hall for drying and storing the plants is inevitable – an investment that paid off.
After the death of our founder Christoph Mix, his sons Bernhard and Walter Mix continue the business: With their fresh ideas they let the company grow further. The production takes on a new quality thanks to modern plants and a second drying hall. A domino effect sets in: The product range increases and now also includes aromatic herbs.
With Christoph Mix, the grandson of the company founder and managing partner to this day, the company baton is passed on to the third generation. A young man of 21 at the time, he presses ahead with innovations and orientates the company step-by-step toward international competition. Business relations expand abroad. Apart from medicinal herbs and teas dried vegetables and ready spice blends are offered.
Stagnancy is not part of the vocabulary at Kräuter Mix. Once again the company premises have to be enlarged extensively in order to satisfy the rising demand. More and more large customers fill the order books. The positive momentum results in the inclusion of further products in our portfolio and the setting up of new production technologies and processes.
With the certification for controlled organic cultivation, Kräuter Mix enters the field of testing and certification. Quality assurance becomes the major theme of the following years in order to fulfill the ever increasing demands and to compete successfully. The certifications turn the company into a competent and safe partner of the food and pharmaceutical industries. They continue what began in 1965 with the license for manufacturing herbal medicines.
The expansion course continues unabated. With its largest investment project since the company was founded, Kräuter Mix enters a new dimension: A modern logistics center is established in Abtswind which takes into account the requirements of an unbroken supply chain. This allows customer requests to be met even more efficiently.
Since the positive business trend continues, additional storage areas become necessary. In the neighboring town of Wiesentheid the purchase and modification of a former production plant results in a second company location with its own dispatch division. 2008, 2015 and 2017 we had to expand there repeatedly. So that Kräuter Mix now has a total of 64,000 square meters of storage area with space for 95,000 pallets in Abtswind and Wiesentheid. Germ reduction, stock protective treatment, cold grinding and other contracting work have established themselves as a further business line.
Because the demands are constantly rising in the production of food, herbal active ingredients and medicines, Kräuter Mix takes the decision to invest extensively: Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is the key word that stands for quality, hygiene and safety on the highest level and forms the collective term for all the measures in manufacturing, handling and inspection of raw materials, active ingredients and medicines. The building and plants were in part extensively modified. In 2012 Kräuter Mix receives the GMP certification.
Kräuter Mix now puts even more of an emphasis on juniper. The owners of the company Weisgerber GmbH in Schwebheim (county of Schweinfurt), who have been specialized in high-quality juniper products for more than 20 years, are for reasons of age looking for a successor who will continue the philosophy of quality, and find the successor in Abtswind, where a separate production and drying plant for juniper, the Juniper Center, goes into operation.
With the two brothers Bernhard Mix (since 2010) and Steffen Mix (since 2014), the two sons of the current managing partner Christoph Mix, the fourth generation enters the company and takes over functions in Management step-by-step. In 2017 Kräuter Mix is shaken by the sudden death in an accident of Steffen Mix, who has left a large gap. The blow of fate is a challenge and a spur to continue pursuing Steffen’s ambitious objectives and visions in his sense and to secure the future of Kräuter Mix as a family-owned and managed business. In 2018 Bernhard Mix moves up from having power-of-attorney to being the second managing partner at the side of his father.
Since Kräuter Mix takes its responsibility toward society seriously, we have been participating in Abtswind and globally for several years voluntarily in various sustainability projects – a fact that is also reflected in our range of products that contain a series of certified sustainable articles. Through the audits in accordance with EMAS and SMETA, Kräuter Mix furthermore places particular emphasis of ecological and social aspects. For example Kräuter Mix is active in environmental protection to a greater extent than required by law.
The most successful business year till then in the company history results in the first three-digit million turnover for Kräuter Mix: After 92.5 million Euro in 2015, a new record of 111 million is reached. The development shows: The company is growing sustainably successfully. In order to meet the increasing demand, Kräuter Mix invests 13 million Euro in 2017 in the two company locations: In addition to the further expansion of the logistics center in Wiesentheid through which the overall storage space expands to 64,000 square meter, a new hall for six production lines is erected in Abtswind. In 2017 we already had the next record turnover of 125 million Euro. Through the expansion the number of employees increases to 420 in 2018.
Kräuter Mix has every reason to celebrate: The 100 years of existence mark a milestone in the company history which makes the owners and employees proud of what they have achieved and let them view the future with confidence. Kräuter Mix is taking the opportunity of this significant jubilee to give itself a new fresh appearance and to present a new company logo, combined with the maxim “Passion for Plants”.
