Carl Kühne KG

Company data

Brands

• Bornier
• Gundelsheim
• Kauffmann
• Luycks
• TONOLI delicatessen
• Uyttewaal
• Téméraire

  History

• 1722: Johann Daniel Epinius founds a vinegar brewery in Berlin.
• 1761: Epinius's widow sells the company to the Kühne family, namely Friedrich Wilhelm Kühne.
• 1795: Construction ends on a larger vinegar factory in Alte Jacobstraße, Berlin-Kreuzberg, which houses production for the next 40 years.
• 1832: Carl Ernst Wilhelm Kühne takes over the business and is the first person to introduce Schützenbach's quick-vinegar manufacturing process. The company took on its present name.
• 1835: Kühne builds a new, much larger factory in Neue Grünstraße, Berlin.
• 1867: Carl Kühne takes over the company.
• 1876: Kaiser Wilhelm 1st appoints Kühne as purveyor to the court.
• 1888: Wilhelm Kühne succeeds his father. New factories are built in Hamburg and on the coast near the fish processing industry.
• 1896: Kühne decides to include mustard in the production program. In Berlin, a new production facility is put into operation on Belle-Alliance-Straße.
• 1902: Kühne introduces mayonnaise into the German market as a finished product, according to the English model.
• 1903: The production of gherkins begins.
• 1905: Kühne includes sauerkraut in his production program. Under the "Surol" brand, Kühne sells vinegar in bottles, creating one of the first branded products in Germany.
• 1939: The company now has 20 branches, mainly in the north, west and east of Germany.
• 1945: After the end of the war, almost all their companies were badly damaged or destroyed. The branch in Hamburg became the new headquarters of the company. Production began again.
• 1949: Kühne sets up new businesses throughout Germany.
• 1949 The old Berlin companies are replaced by a new facility in Reinickendorf. Here, the company produces vinegar and mustard, and later ketchup and barbecue sauces.
• 1949: Kühne sets up a business in Straelen-Herongen.
• 1957: Kühne is the first manufacturer to introduce a ready-to-serve pickled red cabbage, one of the first convenience foods to enter the German market.
• 1995: The vinegar factory at the Hamburg plant burns down completely. One year later, Kühne starts building a new vinegar factory in Hagenow.
• 2008: Kühne opens a warehouse in Straelen-Herongen.
• 2015: Launch of sub-brand ENJOY. Product launch of ENJOY salad dressings and vegetable chips.
• 2016: Launch of the sub-brand MADE FOR MEAT.