
Bahlsen GmbH & Co. KG is a German food company based in
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
. It was founded in July 1889 by
Hermann Bahlsen (1859–1919) as the "Hannoversche Cakesfabrik H. Bahlsen".
Bahlsen makes products such as chocolate-dipped Pick Up! snack bars. Bahlsen operates five production facilities in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and exports products to about 55 countries. It also does
private-label production and remains funded by private capital.
[businessweek.com: "Company Overview of Bahlsen GmbH & Co. KG"](_blank)
consulted Oct 2014
History
Origin and economic success
In 1889, the ''Hannoversche Cakesfabrik'' (Hanover Cake Factory) was founded by taking over ''Fabrikgeschäft engl. Cakes und Biscuits'' (factory business. Cakes and Biscuits), which had ten employees at the time. In 1891, the Leibniz biscuit was invented and by 1894 it was also produced in the USA. In 1893, Bahlsen received a gold medal for its products at the food exhibition in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, and in the same year it was awarded a gold medal for its biscuits at the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.
In 1899, the company had 300 employees, and in 1905 the first assembly line production took place in Europe. In 1911, an administration building on Podbielskistrasse was build. In 1912, the company was renamed H. Bahlsens Keksfabrik. In 1914, Bahlsen employed around 1,700 people.
In 1911
Hermann Bahlsen changed the English word „cakes“ into „Keks“. Some years later, the new term is officially approved and incorporated in the German
Duden
The Duden () is a dictionary of the Standard High German language, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880, and later by Bibliographisches Institut GmbH, which was merged into Cornelsen Verlag in 2022.
The Duden is updated regularly with ...
(dictionary).
In 1916 and 1917, Bahlsen had plans developed for a test-tube city called TET-Stadt in Hanover, which was never realized. It was to be both a home and a workplace for the employees of the Bahlsen works.
On 6 November 1919, Hermann Bahlsen died and Hans Bahlsen took over the company.
During National Socialism in Germany (Until 1945)
The time of the
German Reich
German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...
was accompanied by economic success for Bahlsen. In particular, the Express tin can introduced in 1933, which contained a pound of biscuits for one
Reichsmark
The (; sign: ℛ︁ℳ︁; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, and in the American, British and French occupied zones of Germany, until 20 June 1948. The Reichsmark was then replace ...
, became a bestseller. In 1935, Bahlsen launched the saltstick, which had only been available in the USA until then. In 1935, the company planned to print a photo of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
on promotional postcards, to be paired with TET biscuit packs “for our propaganda purposes” (as a form of advertising). The Interior Ministry withdrew the cards because it would commercialize Hitler.
As a result of the shortage of raw materials due to the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the product range was reduced to eleven items. When Bahlsen was declared a "war-critical company" and thus an armaments company, it produced emergency rations for German soldiers and produced crispbread and rusks.
From the end of May 1940 until the end of the Second World War, over 800
forced labourers from various European countries, most of them women from the occupied zones of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and the
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, came to the factory in Hanover. Due to the regulations at the time, they were disadvantaged in terms of pay, among other things, but also lagged behind the German workforce on other levels. 60 compensation claims by former forced labourers against Bahlsen were dismissed by the Hanover Regional Court in 2000 due to the statute of limitations. The company executives at the time, Hans Bahlsen, Werner Bahlsen and Klaus Bahlsen, were all members of the
NSDAP. While the Bahlsen brothers were not top representatives of the
NSDAP (Nazi party), they were in regular contact with NSDAP officials.
In addition, Bahlsen cooperated with the
SS and managed a biscuit factory in occupied
Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
. During the German retreat in 1943, the Bahlsen company took all of the factory's equipment, facilities and materials with them to Germany.
After the end of the Nazi dictatorship, the company quickly received a production permit as an indispensable food producer and regained its role and importance. By the end of the war nearly 60% of the factory and almost all distribution warehouses are destroyed.
In 2019 Bahlsen assigned historian Professor Dr. Manfred Grieger to examine an independent review of the company's history.
In 2019, criticism was voiced against company heiress and shareholder Verena Bahlsenafter she commented in the
Bild newspaper on forced labourers during Second World War: "That was before my time and we paid the forced labourers the same as the Germans and treated them well." Research by the weekly newspaper
Die Zeit
(, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles.
History
The first edition of was ...
revealed that the statement about the amount of forced labourers' pay was incorrect. The average gross weekly wage of a German worker at the time was 44 Reichsmarks. According to an analysis of Bahlsen pay cards, the Bahlsen forced labourers were paid only five to ten Reichsmarks per week.
The company responded to the criticism in 2019 with a press release from the company's perspective on the time of the German Reich. In it, it published a statement by Verena Bahlsen in which she regretted her statements "in personal words". It was also announced that the historian Manfred Grieger had been commissioned with an independent panel of experts to write a scientifically based company history, including on forced labour at Bahlsen. The study by Hartmut Berghoff and Manfred Grieger was published in 2024. According to the results, more than 800 foreign workers were forced to work for Bahlsen between 1940 and 1945. This meant that the company profited from the National Socialist forced labour system. The hourly wage was a third to a fifth lower than that of German workers. Forced labourers from Poland had to wear a stigmatizing badge, received smaller food rations and poorer medical care. They were housed in a barracks camp and excluded from public life. Compared to other Hanoverian companies, such as
Hanomag and
Continental, the forced labourers at Bahlsen had better opportunities to obtain food. They also had access to wash rooms and showers because of the compliance with hygiene standards in the biscuit factory.
After the new research results were announced, the Bahlsen family of manufacturers admitted shortcomings in dealing with the time during the German Reich. They expressed their regret at the lack of reappraisal and announced the company's commitment to the culture of remembrance. This includes a memorial plaque and an exhibition with documents from the Nazi era in the company headquarters on Podbielskistrasse. Cooperation is planned for the Käthe Kollwitz School's history projects on the Bahlsen forced labourers. The forced labourers' barracks camp was on the school grounds. A memorial plaque or monument is to be erected there.
After the Second World War
In 1945, about 60% of the factory was destroyed. In 1963, the
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
-based manufacturer ''Feurich-Keks'' was taken over.
The company also acquired a stake in the ''Wilhelm Liebelt'' company in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
and started selling nuts. Since 1964, Bahlsen has cooperated with ''Flessner KG'', which had operated the first automatic production plant for potato chips in Europe since 1951. In 1985, ''Flessner'' was completely taken over by Bahlsen.
In 1965, Bahlsen took over the ''Kuchenfabrik Brokat'' (Cake factory Brokat) in
Oldenburg, which was sold to an American company in 1991. In 1968, the ''Gubor'' chocolate factory in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
was taken over.
German politician
Ernst Albrecht (1930–2014) was member of the management board of Bahlsen in the 1970s and the press gave him the
nickname
A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
"
Cookie Monster
Cookie Monster is a blue List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As ...
". During this time, Bahlsen developed into an international company and increasingly set up sales companies and distribution warehouses in other European countries, for example in 1972, in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. In 1980, the ''Austin Quality Foods Company'' in
Cary,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, was taken over and production began in the USA. In 1987, production at the main plant in Hanover was discontinued and relocated to the nearby town of
Barsinghausen
Barsinghausen () is a town in the Hanover (district), district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the Deister chain of hills approx. 20 km west of Hanover. Barsinghausen belongs to the historic landscape Calenberg Land and ...
.
In 1989, the company celebrated its centenary with a "selection of the finest chocolate-coated biscuits and waffles". Since the 1990s, Bahlsen has also produced in Poland.
After the
reunification of Germany
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...
(3 October 1990), the ''
Treuhandanstalt
The (, " Trust agency"), colloquially referred to as , was an agency established by the government of the German Democratic Republic to reprivatise/ privatise East German enterprises, Volkseigene Betriebe (VEBs), prior to German reunification ...
'' privatized many formerly "publicly owned" companies. Bahlsen bought ''Dauerbackwaren GmbH'' in
Radebeul,
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, but closed the plant in 1992/1993. In 1991, Bahlsen also bought the ''Erste Thüringer Keksfabrik'' (First Thuringia Biscuit Factory) in
Bad Liebenstein,
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
.
Between 1996 and 1999, the company was owned equally by the three shareholders Werner Michael Bahlsen, Lorenz Alexander Bahlsen, the later founder of ''The Lorenz Bahlsen Snack-World'', and Andrea von Nordeck († 1998). In 1999 the company is split off into the three segments, “sweet” (Bahlsen) and “snack” (''Lorenz Bahlsen Snack Gruppe'', renamed ''
Lorenz Snack-World'' in 2001) and the real estate focused ''Von Nordeck-Gruppe''.
In 2002, a two-brand strategy was created; in addition to the well-known company logo, two new logos were developed and introduced for the two product brands Bahlsen and Leibniz. In 2011, the factory in Barsinghausen was named "Factory of the Year 2011" by the magazine ''Produktion'' after extensive renovation. In 2018, after more than 80 years, a statue by
Bernhard Hoetger depicting the TET goddess, which had been hidden since the 1930s, was found and reinstalled at the Bahlsen headquarters in Hanover. As of 2024, production took place at five locations, in Hanover, Barsinghausen,
Varel
Varel () is a town in the district of Friesland, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Jade River and the Jade Bight, approximately south of Wilhelmshaven and north of Oldenburg. With a population of 23,984 (2020) it is the bigg ...
(
Friesland
Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
),
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Skawina
Skawina is a town in southern Poland with 27,328 inhabitants (2008). Situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998), Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998). The town is located on the Skawinka ri ...
(Poland) and Jawornik (Poland).
From 1999 to 2018,
Werner Michael Bahlsen was the sole shareholder and at the same time managing director. Today he is the chairman of the
board of directors
A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency.
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
. CEO Phil Rumbol, who has been with the company since 2020 and was responsible for the company's reorientation, left the company in 2022. As an interim solution, a management team took over, which also included Werner M. Bahlsen's daughter, Verena Bahlsen. Alexander Kühnen took over the position of CEO on 1 January 2023.
Biscuit theft
In February 2013, a gilded bronze sign in the form of a biscuit that hung outside the corporate headquarters in
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
was stolen overnight. The biscuit was around 20 kilogram heavy and created by sculptor Georg Herting together with the facade figures in 1910. A ransom demand was received asking for donations of cookies to a local children's hospital and a donation to a local animal shelter. The letter included a photo of an unknown person in a Cookie Monster costume posing with the biscuit. Bahlsen then offered via Facebook to donate 52,000 biscuit packs to 52 social institutions.
On 5 February, the gold-plated biscuit was found again. It was hanging on the statue of the
Saxon Steed in front of the
Leibniz University in Hanover.
The company as well as the blackmailers used the symbolism of the company's founding Leibniz biscuit with 52 teeth (52,000 biscuit packages, 52 social institutions, returned on 5 February), which, like the place where it was found (Leibniz University), is named after the Hanover court librarian Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. On 11 July 2013, the biscuit was hung up at the headquarters again.
Notable brands and adverts
Leibniz cakes
Bahlsen produces a range of
biscuit
A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers.
...
s and cakes. Its best-known product is the
Leibniz-Keks (butter biscuit), introduced in 1891 and named after the Hanoverian court librarian and philosopher
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to ...
(1646–1716), who was looking for a long-lasting product to feed soldiers and came across rusks.
The advertising slogan for the butter biscuits in 1898 was: "What does humanity eat on the move? Of course Leibniz Cakes!”
TET trademark
In 1904, the prancing horse, which had been registered as a trademark since 1896, was replaced by the TET symbol designed by the graphic artist Heinrich Mittag.
In the same year Bahlsen introduced the new dust and moisture-resistant TET packaging onto the market. The TET sign, featuring an oval with a snake and three dots deriving from an ancient Egypt
hieroglyphic meaning ‘everlasting’, is originally pronounced as “dschet”, but simplified to “TET”. The TET-packaging is the first packaging made of paper-board with the ability to keep the biscuit enduringly fresh. The following year Bahlsen introduces Europe's first
assembly line
An assembly line, often called ''progressive assembly'', is a manufacturing process where the unfinished product moves in a direct line from workstation to workstation, with parts added in sequence until the final product is completed. By mechan ...
, eight years before
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...
adopts it in the automotive industry.
Advertising stamps (1912-1914)
From 1912-1914 Bahlsen issued artistic advertising stamps. There were a total of eight series of stamps designed by various artists, such as
Heinrich Vogeler, Otto Obermeier and
Änne Koken, who designed two series.
Other artists featured on Bahlsen's advertising stamps were Karl Bernhard, Heinrich Mittag and
Lucian Bernhard.
The main character and narrator of Änne Kokens stamps is a winged
putto. The stamps in the series show the necessary ingredients, manufacturing and packaging process for the distribution of the product. The advertising stamps were sent to customers in exchange for vouchers that were included in the biscuit packages. Twelve artist stamps were available for twelve vouchers.
Field postcards (1914-1916)
During the First World War, Bahlsen issued a total of 64 field postcards. The company was able to hire these artists for the postcards: Änne Koken (3), Ferdinand Spiegel (3),
Walter Georgi (25), Josse Goossens (16),
Ludwig Hohlwein (9),
Carl Otto Czeschka (6) and
Julius Diez (2).
Key personnel
Management board:
* Alexander Kühnen (
CEO)
* Christopher Harmsen (
CFO)
* Cornelia Kaufmann (Chief Culture Officer)
* Karl Reichstein (Chief Supply Chain Officer)
See also
*
Theft of the golden Leibniz cookie
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control, state=collapsed
German brands
Food and drink companies of Germany
Manufacturing companies based in Hanover