Lambertz

A tradition of invention

With a rich history dating back to 1688, Lambertz has grown from a regional business to an international company specialising in premium quality biscuits

While Lambertz today operates as Germany’s oldest confectionary brand, the roots of the business date back to 15 September 1688, when master baker, Henry Lambertz established the ‘Haus zur Sonne’ baking house in Aachen. The company quickly earned a reputation for delivering truly excellent baked good, including its traditional Aachener Printe gingerbread. Throughout its history, Lambertz has continued to develop new and exciting products. During 1820 for example, Henry Lambertz IV sweetened the Printe dough for the first time with sugar syrup and icing sugar, while in 1831 Johann Werner introduced new developments in herbal Printe dough.

In 1978 the business entered into its ninth generation when Dr. Hermann Bühlbecker, a direct descendent of Henry Lambertz took control of the company. Today Lambertz generates a turnover of around €620 million and employs more than 4000 people at its production sites in Germany and an additional site in Poland. After growing from a small supplier of baked good within a niche market, the company has transformed into a global market leader for seasonal and speciality Christmas baked goods within circa 40 countries worldwide and the business shows no sighs of slowing down. “In five years, we would like to be an even more international company than we are today,” reveals the current owner of Lambertz, Dr. Bühlbecker. “We still see considerable growth potential in the United States and Eastern Europe. We also want to continue to extend our range of products. As a global market leader in autumn and Christmas baked goods, it will be a success in itself if we can defend our current position.”

Core to the ongoing development of Lambertz, is the on-going development of new and exciting baked products that both offer tantalising innovation and reflect the changing tastes of consumer demand. In addition to its impressive organic growth, the company has made several strategic acquisitions over the years that have increased the range of confectionary products that Lambertz is able to offer. During May 2015 for example, Lambertz took over all business operations belonging to the Ifri Schuhmann Group in Nuremberg, including its gingerbread and Dauerbackwaren factory Ifri Schuhmann GmbH & Co. KG. The purchase also included the Burg Lebkuchen GmbH Nürnberg and Josef Wendler nougat GmbH & Co. KG brands.

“One of the reasons that Lambertz remains so strong in the market is its continuing innovation with new products,” elaborates Head of Marketing, Wolfgang Siegel. “We have several product launches each year that really enable us to push into the market and this has been supported by the acquisition of several other brands during the company’s history. Dr. Bühlbecker started by taking over control of Lambertz and later added brands such as Kinkartz and Haeberlein-Matzger to the business. This is partly why Lambertz has been able to achieve continued growth and today there is no other company within Germany that can boast over 365 years of baking tradition.”

Bursts of flavour
In recent months Lambertz has introduced several new product lines that appeal to a diverse spectrum of consumer tastes. Its new range of bio-cookies for example, enable diners to enjoy the sweet temptation of Lambertz in a healthy way. Its new line of bio-cookies is available in three delicious flavours, comprised of Matcha, apple-chia and meadow herbs. “The combination of cookie with delicately sweet matcha tea reveals not only the tea’s aroma as well as its colour as the cookie melts in the mouth. The delicious new meadow herbs cookie is another real treat and in every way the equal of the matcha cookie,” Hermann says. “A harmonious mix of organic spearmint, organic lemon balm and organic marigold turns this cookie into a special taste experience. The trio is completed by the delightful apple-chia cookie, the full fruitiness of sun-ripened apples in harmony with chia seeds, which are attributed a health-giving effect thanks to a particularly high nutrient content that is the secret of this cookie.”

The new organic bio-cookies are equally impressive in terms of taste and look. Baked in the shape of a small leaf, they are an attractive and healthy occasional snack. The new delicacies are presented in a new packaging design, to be introduced as a new bio range under the Lambertz brand. In addition to the introduction of its bio-cookies, the company’s bio range has been further enhanced by the introduction of its bio-oat cookies. “Lambertz is devoted to delighting the palate and constantly developing innovative, new delicacies. The new bio-oat cookie is a real highlight in that respect,” Hermann says. “The combination of oats, quinoa, amaranth and chia makes the new bio-oat cookie a delicious treat that melts in the mouth. As a non-chocolate coated version, the new 150g bio-oat cookies with special ingredients are an outstanding addition to the existing bio-oat cookies with milk or dark chocolate, and are also suitable for the warmer months of the year. The new bio-cookie appears in the attractive new packaging design among the new bio range of the Lambertz brand.”

Further to its healthy range of biocookies, Lambertz has also introduced its luxury Weltgenuss brand of biscuits as well as its Heavy 1 cookie. Weltgenuss represents a culinary journey around the world that combines precious chocolate with South American red pepper, Asian peanuts and oriental pistachio and liquorice, while Heavy 1 represents a ‘wake up’ innovation in baked goods. “The Heavy 1 cookie is a crispy, crunchy guarana cookie with natural caffeine, filled with a tenderly melting cream filling with the taste of the popular, new energy drink ‘Heavy 1’, Hermann explains. “Not only does it have a great taste, but is also a real eye-catcher that is coated with a fine white chocolate cover and adored with lovely sweet number ones in a red colour, as well as popping candies. This is literally a burst of flavours, because the small popping candies provoke a nice tingle in the mouth. It is a unique cookie, which is not just tasty, but also gives you energy because of the content of natural caffeine.”

With these innovative product developments and a proven track record as a leading supplier of market-leading and exquisite baked goods, Lambertz is set to continue to offer tasty and inviting treats that will tempt even the most discerning diner. With the introduction of its bio range of cookies and its Heavy 1 and Weltgenuss lines, Lambertz has once again proven that it has something for everyone.