The Hero Group is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
,
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
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*Swiss, West Virginia
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*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
international
consumer food manufacturer and marketing company, which primarily sells infant formula, baby food, jam and nutritional
snack foods
A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home.
Traditionally, snacks are p ...
.
In 2015, the Group generated
revenue
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business.
Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...
s surpassing
CHF 1.26 billion and had 4,300 employees around the world.
Overview
In 1995, Dr. Arend Oetker acquired a
majority shareholding in Hero and re-positioned the Group to focus on branded business. Business segments that no longer fitted this
brand strategy
In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is per ...
were divested. In parallel, the Group embarked on a major geographic expansion program.
Today, Hero is producing products in its core product categories. The Group's operations are based predominantly in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
,
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
/
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
/
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
.
History
![Brunch at Hotel MacDonald (3674538828)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Brunch_at_Hotel_MacDonald_%283674538828%29.jpg)
1886: Foundation of Conservenfabrik Lenzburg, Henckell & Zeiler
Hero was established in 1886 when two friends, Gustav Henckell and Gustav Zeiler, set up the Henckell & Zeiler, Conservenfabrik Lenzburg to process fruit and vegetables. Henckell was an experienced conserve factory employee while Zeiler was a fruit farmer. By the end of the year, they were joined by Carl Roth as a silent partner.
1889: Carl Roth becomes a full partner
Gustav Zeiler, aged 30, died unexpectedly on February 12, 1889, and was succeeded by Carl Roth. The company was renamed Henckell & Roth.
1910: Launch of the Hero brand
The Hero brand name, derived from the first two letters of the partners’ names, Henckell and Roth, was launched in 1910. Tin cans also inspired the name with the letters H, R, and O resembling their shape. This remains true today.
1910-1939: A flourishing business and international expansion
Between 1910 and 1939, five companies were set up or acquired in Switzerland, and the export business flourished. Subsidiaries were founded in the Netherlands (1914) and Spain (1922). By 1922, there were 31 different types of Hero conserves ranging in size from 500g jars to the 55kg oak tubs
1914: Quoted on the stock exchange
Hero was floated on the stock exchange in 1914. This year also marked the death of Carl Roth.
1940-1945: World War II and its consequences for Hero
Hero was affected by the shortages and scarcity during the war years. To ensure that supplies continued, Swiss housewives were encouraged to wash and return empty containers for reuse. Due to sugar rationing, Hero developed a conserve with less sugar and a higher fruit content, creating one of Hero's most popular brands – Hero Delicia. This premium conserve range has 60% fruit content and a lower sugar content than standard conserves.
1942: Henckell passes away
The man who contributed the first half the name Hero, Gustav Henckell, passes away early in January 1942.
1946-1994: ‘Hero Classics’ conquer the market
In the post-war period, Hero launched a range of products, including tinned ravioli (1948), fruit juices (1963) and Rösti (1968), which are still on supermarket shelves today and known as classics. In 1949, the Conservas Alimenticias Hero SA, Sao Carlos, Brazil, was formed
Further expansion
Hero extended its activities in the baby food category with the launch of Hero Baby in Spain (1985), in the UK with Hero Foods (UK) Ltd., in Germany with the acquisition of a majority holding of Lindavia Fruchtsaft AG (1990), and in France with the takeover of Les Verges d’Alsace (1990).
1986: Hero celebrates its centenary
Hero organized a number of events to mark the 100 years since its founding. On the business side, the company purchased the conserve factory De Betuwe in
Tiel
Tiel () is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centres Kapel- ...
, the Netherlands, among others.
1995: Hero under the ownership of the Oetker Family
In 1995, the German company Schwartau International GmbH, founded in 1899 and owned by Dr Arend Oetker, acquired a majority stake in Hero. A year later, Hero entered the North American market through a joint venture with
McCormick to form Signature Brands LLC with the aim to manufacture food decoration products. Hero sold off its British Rayner subsidiary and non-Hero branded fruit juices companies, including Klindworth and Lindavia.
2000-2014: Becoming an International House of Brands
In 2002, Hero acquired a majority stake in Schwartau. In 2003, it delisted from the
Swiss Stock Exchange
SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zurich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being Berne eXchange). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other securities such as Swiss government bonds and derivatives such as ...
. Hero expanded into Turkey and the Middle East through the acquisition of the Egyptian jam company Vitrac and the setup of a joint venture with Ülker Group to produce baby food in Turkey.
Hero also entered the Swiss baby food market by acquiring Wander's Adapta and Galactina brands and expanded into Eastern Europe through the purchase of the Sunar trademark in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
.
In 2005, Hero purchased the Beech-Nut baby food business in the United States and set up a large R&D centre for infant nutrition in Spain.
In 2006, the company acquired Semper, the leading baby food manufacturer in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
, and a year later it added the Friso brand (today Hero Baby) from Friesland Foods to its infant nutrition portfolio.
Hero also acquired the Juvela gluten-free business in the UK strengthening its position in nutritional products. Hero expanded into the Russian market, entered the organic baby food sector in the UK through the acquisition of Organix, and the Belgian market through a licensing agreement with Blédina.
In 2009, a new baby food plant was opened in Ankara, Turkey, as part of the joint venture between Hero and Ülker, and a marketing partnership with Abbott Nutrition in the USA was established.
In June 2010, Hero started production in the newly built Beech-Nut baby food plant in the US.
In 2014, Hero acquired full ownership of the business in Turkey, where all products are now sold under the Hero Baby brand.
2011: New premises
The building of the Hero Group's new headquarters and factory in
Lenzburg
Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Swiss canton Aargau and is the capital of the Lenzburg District. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neigh ...
was completed, a project which was to be completed a year later, right on time for the company's 125th anniversary. Previously, the company had its production facilities and offices right next to the Lenzburg train station.
2012: New CEO
In 2012, Dutch national Rob Versloot was appointed as CEO of the Hero Group.
2015: Expansion into South America
In December 2015, the Hero Group entered into a joint venture with Kiviks Marquand, the makers of the Queensberry jams, the market leader in Brazil.
References
External links
Official SiteHero SwitzerlandHero BeneluxHero Spain
{{Authority control
Food and drink companies of Switzerland
Lenzburg
Swiss companies established in 1886
Food and drink companies established in 1886
Swiss brands