 The success story of J. Carl Fridlin Gewürze Ltd. begins over 200 years ago with the decision by Johann Caspar Fridlin (1751 – 1821) to found a 'colonial goods' store. At the same time he also started to trade in spices. In 1807, he acquired a stamping mill in Oberwil to process tobacco leaves into powder for snuff.  The company grew and quickly became renowned for the high quality of its snuff and spices. Jacob Carl Fridlin (1785 – 1863) converted the tobacco stamping mill in Oberwil into a stamping mill for spices, which he used predominantly for crushing cloves and cinnamon bark.  As a far-sighted entrepreneur of his time, Josef Christian Fridlin (1831 – 1914) purchased the water-wheel driven grain mill and stamping press by the Letzibach in Zug in 1874. The first entry in the commercial register dates from 1883 and reads: «J.C. Fridlin in Zug, Production of Snuff and Trade in Spices».  Johan Carl Fridlin (1858 – 1930) specialised in the trade and processing of spices and invested in new facilities and machinery. |
In 1930, Jwan Carl Fridlin (1902 – 1969) took over the management of the company and changed the commercial register entry to «J.C. Fridlin, Spice Mill in Zug». In the same year, the first form of packaging specifically for the retail sector – a shaker made from transparent plastic – was launched for private households. The shaker proved to be extremely popular and its sales continued until 1950. Jwan converted the operation of the stamping mill from water to electrically powered. The JCFZ company logo featuring a stylised mill is designed. In 1960, the mill was totally gutted by fire. During reconstruction, the old building is enlarged with an extension. John Carl Fridlin (1935) increases the company's level of trade and milling operations by offering third-party packaging as an additional service segment. The trademark-protected brand «Lotus» is launched in 1964; conversion into a family public limited company and the commercial register entry «J.C. Fridlin Gewürze Ltd. in Zug» takes place in 1982. The administration building and production building in Hünenberg are completed in 1987 and 1992 respectively. In addition to state-of-the art grinding equipment, a method for reducing microbe counts in spices and herbs without any attendant aroma losses is developed under the internationally-registered trademark FriBAC***. After standing for 123 years, the old buildings are cleared from the 'Stampfe' site in 1997. Today, J. Carl Fridlin Gewürze Ltd. is an independent family business and is managed by Peter John Carl Fridlin (1966) and Iwan Carl Fridlin (1963). Benefiting from a high level of expertise and the long-standing experience of the national market leader in the processing, packaging and distribution of spices, herbs and spice blends, the company is well prepared for the future. |