Ricola is a Swiss company engaged in the production of mints, tea, chewing gum, throat drops, and similar products. The company has operations in several countries including the United Kingdom.

History

Ricola’s history started with the founding of Richterich and Compagnie.  Emil Richterich, a master baker who lived with his family in the town of Laufen, Switzerland, established the company in 1930.

After founding the business, Richterich and his employees started creating several varieties of specialty herb drops and sold them all throughout the region. In 1940, Richterich was able to come up with a blend that would soon become famous worldwide, the Ricola Blend. The blend consisted of 13 herbs and was intended as a cough drop.

The Ricola blend herb-drop soon became the company’s most popular and in-demand product. This herb drop was eventually primarily responsible for the company’s worldwide success. In 1951, Emil and Rosa Richterich relocated the company to a location outside of Laufen. At the time, there was already an increasing demand for the company’s different kinds of herb drops.

In the 1960s, the company began exporting its Ricola products to other countries. In Germany, the Ricola blend herb drop was so popular that it became one of the company’s most important exports. In 1967, Emil, together with sons Alfred and Hans Peter, founded Ricola AG.  That same year, a new facility was constructed in Laufen for the purpose of fully automating the process of creating the Ricola drop.

In the 1970s, Ricola continued to work on its worldwide expansion, entering the markets of Asia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Initial stages of expansion were also being implemented. When Emil Ricterich died in 1973,  his two sons succeeded him in managing the company.

In the 1980s, Ricola started advertising its products and started organic cultivation in its home country, Switzerland. When the company had mastered organic farming, it ended its contracts with mountain farmers in the country. It was during this time that Ricola introduced its new product to the market: sugar-free herb drops.  With this new product, Ricola proceeded to enter the US and Canadian markets.

Since 2000, the company has operations in 50 countries and 400 employees all over the world.

Headquarters: Laufen, Switzerland
Ownership Type: information not available
Employees: more than 400
Geography: worldwide
Demography: retail food products consumption

Brands

Ricola

Important links

Ricola Corporate Home Page
Products
Jobs and Careers
Ricola Contact Information