Brüggen 1868 - 2018 –
Celebrating a 150-year-old passion for food

Muesli, cereals, muesli bars, oat flakes or cornflakes – Brüggen is an expert when it comes to premium ceral-based foodstuffs. The long-established company in Lübeck set up in 1868 is still 100 % family owned today, and is among the leading ceral manufacturers in Europe. This year marks the 150thanniversary of H. & J. Brüggen KG.

From buckwheat production to an international group

It all began in 1868 when Heinrich and Johannes Brüggen founded a horse-powered milling company in Neumünster for the processing of locally grown buckwheat. Three years later, the brothers decide to invest in a steam engine. This new acquisition soon proves to be a success, affording the company a leading edge over its competitors who continue to work with water and wind-powered machinery. 1886 sees the opening of a branch establishment in Lübeck with access to the port and which soon becomes the company headquarters. An oat mill is put into operation after a further eight years, enabling Brüggen to start with the production of oat flakes.

The subsequent generation sees Brüggen through two World Wars, economic crises, inflation and currency reforms, unscathed. The post-war years are charactierised by extensive modernisations as well as the introduction of new manufacturing processes. For instance, Brüggen is one of the first German companies to produce cornflakes in the middle of the 1960s. Led by the third generation, Dr. Hinrich and Jochen Brüggen, its product range is continually expanded and further cereals are added. Moreover, from 1978, muesli blends are offered and some ten years later, the first muesli bars are put on the market.

The management of the company is taken over by the fourth generation in the mid 1990s: since this time, Hanno, Jochen and Johannes Brüggen have been running the enterprise as personally liable partners with a clear focus on the development of a strong strategy of Europeanisation: In order to enable the company to serve the international markets more swiftly and efficiently and with a greater degree of flexibility, Brüggen opens a new cereal and muesli plant in Poland in 2002, followed by an additional plant in France in 2008. The year 2015 sees Brüggen expanding into Chile as part of a joint venture, and has been operating “Brüggen América” together with Chilean partners since this time.

In 2017, Brüggen produced some 195,000 tonnes of cereal-based foodstuffs and generated sales of 324 million euros. This was achieved with over 1,600 members of staff in five locations in four countries, whereby the site in Lübeck accounts for more than two-thirds of this amount. For decades now, Brüggen has been focusing on a system of dual education and training in order to acquire suitably qualified employees. At the current time, there are 78 young people in Lübeck enrolled in ten different vocational training programmes. Moreover, the employees undergo in-house further training on a continual basis.

The company, which can look back on a long tradition, also attaches great importance to the issues of sustainability and responsibility: consequently, Brüggen has already been offering fair trade and organic products for a long time, and has a certified energy and environmental management system. The treatment of natural resources with due care and diligence has priority at Brüggen in order to preserve them for generations to come.


21.08.2018

News

From Brüggen to Brüggen ... by bike!

Join our employee Anne-Marguerite on her bike tour from Thiers to Lübeck! After a challenging year with many new tasks in the research and development department of our French site, our employee ...

26.04.2023

Erasmus+ overseas internships at Brüggen

As part of the vocational training course to qualify as an industrial management assistant, H. &. J. Brüggen KG offers its trainees the opportunity to take part in an overseas internship ...

10.01.2020

Oat Cultivation Forum – Brüggen is lending its support to the initiative to increase the amount of oats grown

The Oat Cultivation Forum, which took place in Berlin on 24 September, has set up an initiative with the aim of providing new impetus for the production of oats in Germany. Oat mills in Germany ...

21.10.2019

Less sugar – great taste!

To further healthy nutrition, H. & J. Brüggen KG is voluntarily pledging to significantly cut sugar and currently has already lowered it by a double-digit percentage. Lowered sugar content in ...

23.04.2019

Brüggen’s expansion at the Lübeck site

New buildings, new plants, new staff Investments of 30 million euros and 100 new jobs in the Hanseatic City – all of the signs are pointing to continued growth at Brüggen. This applies to both the ...

28.06.2018

Brüggen Organic Cereals – bringing variety to the breakfast table with ingredients sourced from certified organic growers

The organic boom persists – more and more consumers are making a conscious decision to buy products originating from certified organic growers. The new range of organic cereals from ...

23.11.2017

Less sugar in food

Product development is dictated by a new target nutritional value profile at Brüggen Less sugar in food – this is a current trend. For the number of obese people is rising dramatically all ...

20.07.2017

Brüggen extensively replaces palm oil

Alternatives and RSPO certification: The use of palm oil has faced criticism in recent decades since the high demand for it, such as in the food industry, has contributed towards the deforestation of ...

15.03.2017

Promoting sustainable agriculture: Brüggen using UTZ-certified cocoa For us at H. & J. Brüggen KG, the principle of sustainability is fundamental to our business practices and ...

17.01.2017

Brüggen opens R&D Centre in Thiers

Brüggen opened its new Research & Development Centre at its plant in the French town of Thiers on 3rd October 2016. The modern building houses Brüggen's French Research & ...

15.11.2016

Energy and Environmental Management

Protection of the environment and more energy- and cost-efficient production at the same time: Brüggen's energy and environmental management has set itself some ambitious targets. The energy ...

29.09.2016

Brüggen’s new fleet of fork-lift trucks

Brüggen’s logistics has been the proud owner of a new generation of ultra-modern fork-lift trucks for some months now. A new battery system, an online fleet management system and increased ...

12.09.2016

Brüggen muesli with milk – the real "to go" option!

Compared with existing muesli-in-a-pot concepts, Brüggen My Muesli Moment Crunchy Mueslis offer a real "to go" option. The Brüggen muesli in a pot with milk and spoon provides you with ...

18.11.2015

Brüggen sends cornflakes to a Children's Village in Haiti

When Brüggen's business partner Capex called for donations for an orphanage in the Caribbean, the company wasted no time in organising some cornflakes, which made for a great deal of pleasure. ...

31.07.2015

New packaging: Children's cereals from Brüggen

Brüggen's most popular range of children's cereals has now been given a new, appealing look and this colourful breakfast will make for a nice change on the table in the mornings. Whether ...

13.04.2015

Mueslis for children

A muesli created specifically for kids, appealing to children, colourful and a sugar content of less than 13 percent – Brüggen is raising the bar with this development. Less is more: ...

11.03.2015

Muesli with barley beta-glucan

A real affair of the heart: The new Brüggen mueslis with barley beta-glucan to lower blood cholesterol. Barley beta-glucan has been proven to lower the level of cholesterol in the blood. One 45 ...

09.03.2015

Peanut pockets

A new form of peanut enjoyment is taking shape The new taste experience from Brüggen: Crispy chocolate cereal pockets filled with a deliciously creamy peanut paste. This innovation, developed ...

08.03.2015

Wholemeal flakes with steviol glycosides from stevia

Crunchy enjoyment with a new sweetness Brüggen is now focusing on the sweetening power of the stevia plant for its new wholemeal flakes: For a sweet yet sugar-free start to the day. Brüggen ...

06.03.2015

Crunchy Muesli with Calcium and Magnesium

For healthy bones and strong nerves: Four tailor-made varieties of crunchy mueslis with calcium and magnesium have been simultaneously developed for a customer for a special "Cereal Campaign". These ...

05.03.2015

Enjoyment with a clear conscience

New muesli with the Fair Trade Seal Brüggen is now adding a further Fair Trade product to its range of muesli – namely the variety “Crunchy muesli with sultanas and nuts”. This ...

04.03.2015

Fruit as the key to reducing sugar content

Granola con Frutas Intensive research and development as well as tailor-made customer concepts – this is what the long-standing, family-run enterprise Brüggen has symbolised in its ...

02.03.2015

Moving into the New Building

On Monday, 13 February 2012, the time had finally come – the first Brüggen employees moved into the new building on Hafenstraße at the port terminal Konstinkai. The modern building ...

14.02.2015