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The acquisition of the international premium brand granini in 1994 led to the founding of Eckes-Granini GmbH & Co. KG as an independent company specialized in fruit beverages.
After completing its withdrawal from the alcoholic beverages business, Eckes AG was reconstituted as the financial holding company of the Eckes-Granini Group in 2006/2007. Since then, the Group has consistently pursued its express strategy of focusing on the production and marketing of branded products in the fruit beverage segment.
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With the acquisition of the Danish juice producer Rynkeby Foods A/S, the Eckes-Granini Group has achieved another important milestone in support of its strategy of pursuing external growth through purchases of leading brands. Through the integration of the two Danish brands – Rynkeby and God Morgon – Eckes-Granini now controls eleven strategic brands in Europe. In addition, the Group is now the market leader in Denmark and Sweden following the latest acquisition and has extended its market lead in Finland
as well.
With the acquisition of Pago International GmbH, a leading Austrian producer of premium fruit juices, the Eckes-Granini Group takes another important step forward in the implementation of its international growth strategy. As a strong brand with a high brand awareness rating, Pago represents an ideal strategic addition to the international brand portfolio of the fruit juice producer and promises to boost business, especially in the out-of-home sector.
This move substantially strengthens Eckes-Granini’s market position in Aus-tria, France and Spain and opens the door to the Italian and Croatian markets.
The Eckes-Granini Group establishes a strategic partnership with KMV (Kar-lovareské Minerásní Vody), the market leader in the Czech bottled water seg-ment. The goal of cooperation in marketing, sales and logistics is shared suc-cess in the marketing of the international premium juice brand granini and the premium syrup brand YO in the Czech and Slovak Republics.
Following the strategic policy shift by Yíldíz Holding in the wake of its acquisition of United Biscuits (in late 2014), the joint venture has been discontinued by mutual agreement.
By the end of the first business year following the decision by the Eckes AG to focus exclusively on the European fruit juice business through the activities of the Eckes-Granini Group, the course for future success has been laid out. With qualified, highly motivated employees, a diverse brand portfolio (including the renowned premium brand granini and strong local brands) and a very solid financial structure, the financially sound, independent family enterprise is well equipped to meet the challenges to come.
With the sale of all Eckes & Stock subsidiaries abroad, Eckes ends its 150-year involvement in the alcoholic beverage business. The clearly defined strategy of the Eckes-Granini Group is to focus exclusively on the production and market-ing of fruit beverages in Europe.
Already represented by national subsidiaries in Finland and the Baltic region, the Eckes-Granini Group expands its operations in Scandinavian markets through the acquisition of Brämhults Juice AB, a Swedish supplier of premium juices.
Eckes Spirituosen & Wein GmbH, the German subsidiary of the international Eckes & Stock Group (spirits), is sold to Rotkäppchen-Mumm, in which the Harald Eckes-Chantré family holds majority interest.
Eckes acquires the remaining shares (26%) in Eckes-Granini GmbH & Co. KG held by Melitta since the purchase of Granini in 1994. With this acquisition, the Eckes-Granini Group now enjoys total entrepreneurial independence.
Further progress in European expansion is achieved through the acquisition of fruit juice producer Elmenhorster in Lithuania and the founding of the Roma-nian subsidiary Eckes-Granini Romania S. R. L. (in cooperation with Carlsrom Beverage Co.).
Effective 1 January, Eckes AG is reincorporated as a straight financial holding company. All business operations are now carried out by Eckes & Stock (spir-its, wine and sparkling wine) and Eckes-Granini (fruit beverages). The two companies operate entirely independently, each with its own management and supervisory boards. This completes the final step in the processing of establish-ing the two former divisions of Eckes AG as fully autonomous enterprises.
Following the successful introduction of PET bottle for fruit juice in Switzer-land and Finland, Eckes-Granini launches the progressive conversion from glass to PET in the production and bottling of granini and hohes C in Germany.
This successful, revolutionary shift requires massive investments and confronts the organization with one of the biggest technical challenges it has ever faced.
In a first step, Eckes-Granini acquires 60% interest in the French fruit juice producer Joker, and thus assumes a leading position in the French fruit juice market. In 2002, Joker and Les Vergers d’Alsace (acquired in 1998) are merged to form Eckes-Granini France, which markets granini, Joker and Réa.
Eckes-Granini Austria is founded as a fully-owned subsidiary of the Eckes-Granini Group.
With the initial acquisition of minority (20%) interest in the Marli Group, the leading fruit beverage supplier in Finland, Eckes-Granini gains access to mar-kets in Scandinavia and the Baltic States. The Group’s interest is increased to 100% just one year later.
Eckes-Granini acquires the French producer Les Vergers d’Alsace and the Réa brand – an important step forward in one of Europe’s largest fruit beverage markets.
Eckes- Granini Ibérica S. A., the new Spanish subsidiary, launches sales and marketing operations in Barcelona. Eckes-Granini holds majority interest in the joint venture, in which the Spanish Grup de Distribucio Costa Brava S. A. (and Damm, one of the leading breweries in Spain, since 2003) is also a participat-ing partner.
Within the context of the European expansion of its fruit beverage business, Eckes joins with the bottled water producer Henniez to found Eckes-Granini Suisse S. A. for the purpose of producing and market fruit juices in Switzerland (in cooperation with Nestle Waters Switzerland since 2007).
The Bröl production plant in Germany is the first facility in the fruit juice in-dustry to be certified under the EU Eco Management and Audit Scheme. Eck-es-Granini receives an “award for environmental awareness in corporate man-agement” from the “Arbeitsgemeinschaft Selbstständiger Unternehmer” (Asso-ciation of Independent Entrepreneurs, ASU).
Eckes acquires the Granini company from the Melitta Group and integrates it into its own fruit beverage business. Eckes holds 74% interest in the newly founded Eckes-Granini GmbH & Co. KG, while Melitta retains the remaining 24%. With granini, Eckes has now added the first internationally successful brand to its portfolio.
Eckes acquires 50% interest in the Austrian fruit beverage producer Ybbstaler along with the YO brand.
The political turnaround in Eastern Europe opens a number of potentially strong markets for Eckes. In response, the spirits and fruit beverage divisions adopt a strategy of international expansion within the framework of their growth plans.
The acquisition of SIÓ Nektar Kft. in Siófok on the Balaton in Hungary, which markets hohes C in addition to its own well-known local SIÓ brand in Hunga-ry, is a first major step in the successful process of European expansion that will continue in the years to come.
Eckes is incorporated as a public limited company (AG). Peter Eckes KGmbH is reconstituted as a joint stock corporation in which the member families and their foundations continue to hold all shares.
Dr. Koch’s Trink 10 is introduced as the first multivitamin juice to the retail food trade. With this extraordinary successful innovation, Eckes establishes a new segment in the fruit beverage market and one that remains as important as ever today.
Eckes joins other leading fruit-beverage producers to found the “Schutzge-meinschaft der Fruchtsaftindustrie” (Association of Fruit Juice Producers, SGF) in which it continues to play a leading role today. As an institution de-voted to voluntary self-regulation within the industry, the SGF ensures the quality and authenticity of its members’ products. Today, the organization is active the world over, and has established a comprehensive control system that extends from the fruit harvested in the countries of origin to the ready-to-drink beverages sold in retail food stores.
The “Institut für Getränkeforschung” (Beverage Research Institute) is founded as a research and development centre and entrusted with responsibility for con-tinuous quality control. Its first director is Prof. Dr. Julius Koch, who becomes an Eckes “hallmark” for fruit-juice quality and innovation.
hohes C, the first ready-to-drink bottled orange juice, is introduced to the mar-ket. Thanks to its superior quality and its positioning as a source of vitamin C for the whole family, hohes C achieves immediate success, eventually becom-ing a brand classic and continuing to hold the lead in the German fruit beverage market today.
Seeking a second source of revenue in addition to spirits, the company launch-es the production and marketing of fruit juice (Eckes Grape Juice), which is first sold under the brand name “Eckes” in 1936, and thus lays the foundation for the parallel marketing of spirits and non-alcoholic fruit beverages for the next 75 years.
With his small distillery for fruit and wine by-products, Peter Eckes I, a local hauler, farmer and innkeeper, lays the cornerstone for the Eckes beverage company.