Rudolf Wild (February 25, 1904 in

Wiesloch Wiesloch (, locally ; South Franconian: ''Wissloch''), is a town in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 13 kilometres south of Heidelberg. After Weinheim, Sinsheim and Leimen it is the fourth largest town in the Rhein-Neckar-Kre ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

– September 16, 1995 in

Eppelheim Eppelheim () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg bordering Heidelberg. It belongs to the district Rhein-Neckar-Kreis. Geography Location and neighboring communities Eppelheim is situated in the valley of the Upper Rhine southwest of the hil ...

) was a German entrepreneur, and the founder of

WILD Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

, a producer of natural ingredients for food products and beverages.

Biography

After studying chemistry in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, in 1931, Rudolf Wild founded his first company – Zick Zack Werk Rudolf Wild. He set the goal of producing basic materials for non-alcoholic drinks using only natural raw materials. He presented the first completely natural alcohol-free drink, with no artificial flavorings, preservatives or colorings under the brand

Libella Libella is a soft drink that was widely consumed in Germany in the 1950s and 1960s. It was developed by Rudolf Wild, an entrepreneur from Heidelberg who sought to make a fruit-favored drink without artificial ingredients. The bottles were notable ...

at the Interbrau trade fair in 1951. Although Rudolf Wild initially received a skeptical response from customers, his philosophy eventually won recognition as a quality characteristic throughout the beverage and food industries. Under his leadership, WILD developed into an international company. The company is now owned and operated by one of his sons,

Hans-Peter Wild Hans-Peter Wild (born 16 June 1941 in Heidelberg) is a German-born Swiss entrepreneur and lawyer. Wild is the owner and chairman of the fruit juice manufacturer Capri-Sun based in Zug. Until 2014, he was the majority shareholder in the compan ...

Social involvement

Rudolf Wild concentrated on the well-being of his employees while also supporting the citizens of his hometown of Eppelheim – for example, with his generous donation for the construction of a community center.

Awards

In 1979, Rudolf Wild was named the first honorary citizen of the Eppelheim district in recognition of his services to both the citizens and the district. He was also awarded the Stauffer Medal, the highest award of the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, in the same year. Rudolf Wild received the honorary medal of the Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg for his many years of support for the university both financially and in idea generation, and became an honorary member in 1994. The Maison Internationale des Intellectuels (M.I.D.I.) awarded Rudolf Wild the honor of Senator h. c. in 1985. To mark his 85th birthday in 1989, Rudolf Wild was awarded the Verdienstkreuz mit Stern (Great Cross of Merit with Star) for his life's work by the then

Ministerpräsident A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary system, parliamentary or semi-presidential system, semi-presidential system of government where ...

of Baden-Württemberg,

Lothar Späth Lothar Späth (16 November 1937 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (Germany), CDU. Life Späth was born in Sigmaringen. From 30 August 1978 to 13 January 1991 Späth was the 5th Minister President of ...

. The ''Verdienstkreuz mit Stern'' is the highest award issued by the Federal Republic of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

External links

WILD webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wild, Rudolf 1904 births 1995 deaths People from Wiesloch People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Businesspeople from Heidelberg Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century German businesspeople