Grabower Süsswaren is a German food company based in

Grabow Grabow () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The town lies southeast of Ludwigslust, the next city, and has the river Elde passing through its old town which is characterized by 16th century tim ...

. It was founded in 1835 by Johann Bollhagen as a bakery that produced pretzels, waffles and pepper nuts. In 1902 it was taken over by Gustav Ritter, who expanded the sales area and began exporting. In 1951 the company was nationalized as VEB Grabower Dauerbackwaren. The main products produced were chocolate covered marshmallows and

pastries Pastry refers to a variety of doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bak ...

. In 1991, the Schiesser-Group took over the company, reduced the product range to only chocolate covered marshmallows and automated the production processes. Due to the problems in implementing automation, Grabower ran into difficulties and had to file for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in 1996. Since 1996, it has been managed by Otto and Monika Lithardt, modernizing the company and increasing profit from 5 million Euros in 1996 to 145 million Euros in 2006. Grabower produces a range of biscuits and cakes. The company exports products to roughly 50 countries and offers private-label production services. As of June 2010 they have joined the Continental Bakeries group. Lithard expanded the company through further acquisitions to form the Grabower confectionery group. Pastries, chocolate covered marshmallows, waffle marshmallows and crispbread were produced at the Grabow, Arnstadt, Prichsenstadt, Kühren-Burkartshain and Herten locations. In 2010, the group generated annual sales of over 100 million euros with 650 employees, including around 230 in the Grabow main plant. In 2010, Grabower Süsswaren GmbH was taken over by along with several other Lithard acquisitions. On 12 September 2012, Wolf Süßwaren GmbH from

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera (river), Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially ...

was merged into Grabower Süsswaren GmbH. Continental Bakeries, which owned Grabower Süsswaren, acquired by

Biscuit International 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. T ...

in 2022.

References

External links

Official website
Bakeries of Germany Companies based in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Food and drink companies established in 1835 German companies established in 1835 Ludwigslust-Parchim {{food-company-stub