A century of family business and passion for baking

100 years ago, Hans Gries laid the foundations for the success of the family business and the Griesson brand

14-Aug-2024

Griesson - de Beukelaer (GdB) is celebrating a special anniversary this year: Hans Gries founded Griesson in 1924. For 100 years, the family business based in Polch (Rhineland-Palatinate) has stood for sustainable entrepreneurship and combines craftsmanship and technology, tradition and modernity.

"In 2024, we will celebrate the first century of Griesson - de Beukelaer and look back with gratitude on our history, which is characterized by courageous and far-sighted entrepreneurial decisions, especially those of our father Heinz Gries," says Susanne Gries, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Gottlieb Anton Foundation. "Our tradition, our cohesion and our values characterize our family business, which we are constantly developing through extensive investments at all locations."

With the Griesson, De Beukelaer, Prinzen Rolle, LEICHT&CROSS and Cereola brands, Griesson - de Beukelaer is today one of the leading companies in the European sweet and savory cookie market. "The commitment and passion of our employees, the trust of our customers and the enthusiasm of consumers for our products form the foundation for a successful future," emphasizes co-partner Andreas Land.

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In 1924, Hans Gries founded the Griesson company and decided to expand the business of his parents' bakery with a gingerbread factory - a pioneering entrepreneurial decision that would bring potential for growth for Griesson from then on. For the first time, machines replaced the heavy manual labor of the time. The young company grew and with it the number of employees.

New growth through year-round product ranges and the Soft Cake

Another milestone was reached when Heinz Gries took over the management of the company in 1966. After the death of his father, he gave the company's development a new dynamic: the construction of a new factory in Polch, the company's current headquarters, enabled the production of year-round assortments from the opening in 1969. From then on, the company was no longer reliant on Christmas business and manufactured products that were in demand all year round. One of these was the Griesson Soft Cake, which became a perennial favorite after its launch in 1977 and is still one of the most successful and important products in the range today.

Pioneering 90s: A new plant in Thuringia and a merger

The 1990s proved to be groundbreaking for the further development of GdB: after German reunification, Heinz Gries first made the important decision to build a new cookie factory in Kahla (Thuringia). In the truest sense of the word "on a greenfield site", he found optimal conditions and space that allowed him to set up clearly structured production lines. In 1993, the first Griesson Soft Cakes rolled off the production lines. To this day, the site in Kahla is one of the most modern cookie factories in Europe, producing not only Griesson Soft Cake but also cookies and Prinzen Rolle. The fact that one of Germany's most popular cookies, the Prinzen Rolle, comes from GdB is due to a clever entrepreneurial decision made by Heinz Gries just a few years later. As part of an exemplary succession plan, Andreas Land joined the company as managing partner in 1998 and, together with Heinz Gries, shaped the further development of GdB over the next few decades: In 1999, Griesson merged with the Danone subsidiary General Biscuits Germany and Austria to form Griesson - de Beukelaer GmbH & Co KG. In addition to Prinzen Rolle, strong brands such as De Beukelaer and LEICHT&CROSS were also integrated. Andreas Land's entry into the family business is still considered a prime example of successful company succession today - in 2011, the two were awarded the title "Family Entrepreneur of the Year" by the INTES Academy for Family Businesses and Impulse magazine.

Location in Saxony and establishment of the family foundation

In 2008, the year in which Heinz Gries retired from operational management, Wurzener Dauerbackwaren became part of the family business. GdB took over the cookie manufacturer from Saxony and expanded the range to include ice cream cones, refreshment sticks and pastries. 2014 marked an important year for the continuation of GdB as a family business: Heinz Gries transferred his shares to the Gottlieb Anton Foundation, which he had set up. In this way, he ensured the succession of the company shareholding and the independence of GdB for generations to come during his lifetime. "Stability and reliability, including towards employees, are the hallmarks of a family business," says shareholder Andreas Land. "The fact that we have been able to achieve this for over 100 years now makes us all a little proud. Every day, we show anew that craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology, that tradition and modernity are not opposites, but exactly the ingredients needed to be successful over such a long period of time."

Outlook: Into the future with good and sustainable ideas

GdB is rooted in its locations in Polch, Kahla and Wurzen and employs 1,800 people. As an employer with secure jobs in a sustainable and crisis-proof industry, the company continuously invests in the equipment and expansion of its sites. "Stability and a long-term perspective have made us successful as a family-run company, even in challenging times," says Dany Schmidt, Chairman of the Management Board. "With good ideas, a bold look ahead and, above all, with our motivated and highly qualified team, we want to continue to shape the future of the sweet and savory cookie market." This also includes new product concepts, which GdB has increasingly developed in recent years with sustainability in mind - through more ecological packaging or sustainable ingredients. "We are not standing still," says Dany Schmidt. "We pick up on consumer trends and use them to make our company fit for the future."

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

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