Christoph Mix wins 2026 Bavarian Founder’s Award from Bavarian banking association Sparkassenverband Bayern
He joined the family business at 18 before being thrust into its leadership at just 21 following the sudden and tragic death of his father. Now, more than half a century later, he serves as CEO of one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of dried plant-based products, including herbal, fruit and medicinal teas, spices, culinary herbs and pet and animal food.
Christoph Mix, Kräuter Mix managing partner and the grandson of the company’s founder, has transformed the business from small Abtswind-based herb merchant to global player. Now, his life’s work has been recognized with the Sparkassenverband Bayern’s 2026 Bavarian Founder’s Award, or Bayerischer Gründerpreis, which he was honored to accept on July 20. “What a pleasant surprise to have even been nominated by the Sparkasse Mainfranken bank. To go on to win the Lifetime Achievement category fills me with pride,” beamed Christoph Mix.
From a herbal shop to a global enterprise
The foundation of Kräuter Mix was laid in 1919 by the company’s founder, Christoph Mix, as a herbal shop. It was a small family business where the current owner grew up; as the eldest of seven children, he was forced to take over the business in 1973 at the young age of 21 following the sudden death of his father, Bernhard. Now in its third generation, Christoph Mix – starting with a business that had only eight full-time employees – drove the steady, market-oriented expansion of the production facilities and buildings and gradually positioned the company to compete nationally and internationally – by establishing new business relationships both domestically and abroad and expanding the product range.
Christoph Mix (center) accepts the Bavarian Founder’s Award for his life’s work at Kräuter Mix from Matthias Dießl, President of the Sparkassenverband Bayern (left), Bernd Fröhlich, Chair of the Board of Sparkasse Mainfranken Würzburg (second from left) and prize-giver Stefan Proßer, Vice President of the Sparkassenverband Bayern (right).
Today, 107 years after the company was founded, it employs just under 500 people, and the groundwork for the succession and the future of Kräuter Mix has long been laid: Christoph’s son, Bernhard Mix, has served as managing partner since 2018 and runs the company alongside his father. Christoph Mix has thus already set the course for passing on his life’s work to future generations and employees.
Looking back, what does he attribute his company’s success to? “Building a company is difficult, but maintaining it is no less so. Staying on top of things through swift and sustainable action is what counts,” says the Abtswinden-based entrepreneur. And he adds: “An 80-hour workweek has always been – and still is – the norm for me.”
An entrepreneur who stands for “what will be sustainable the day after tomorrow”
The 2026 Bavarian Founder’s Award, which is now being presented by the Sparkssenverband Bayern for the first time since 2019, honors entrepreneurs in four different categories – Startup, Rising Star, Succession, and Lifetime Achievement – who have driven progress in the Free State of Bavaria through innovation, outstanding achievements, and sustainable business models. “In the Lifetime Achievement category, additional criteria include the company’s leading market position in its home market, a well-planned succession plan, and engagement in social and cultural initiatives. These criteria apply to Christoph Mix- in the jury’s view as well – far more than to any other nominee, which is why he deserves the Lifetime Achievement Award,” emphasizes Inge Krämer, corporate client advisor at Sparkasse Mainfranken Würzburg, who nominated Christoph Mix for the award.
At the official awards ceremony on July 20 at BMW Welt in Munich, Stefan Proßer, Vice President of the Sparkassenverband Bayern, highlighted Christoph Mix’s achievements in his laudatory speech, saying: “He represents a generation of entrepreneurs who don’t ask what will bring quick results tomorrow, but rather what will be sustainable the day after tomorrow.” Proßer added that a life’s work is not measured solely by numbers, but by what endures: approximately 500 jobs, the regional strength and deep roots of the Kräuter Mix company in Franconia, and the example of an entrepreneur who has demonstrated that heritage and the future go hand in hand.
