Ricola

Ricola began in 1930 when master baker Emil Wilhelm Richterich and Daniel Ruoss Sr. established Confiseriefabrik Richterich & Co. Laufen after the purchase of a small bakery in his birthplace Laufen, just outside Basel. Under Richterich, the bakery specialized in confectionery such as Fünfermocken, a sweet similar to caramel. In 1940 Richterich experimented with the healing power of herbs and created Ricola's Swiss Herbal Sweet incorporating a blend of 13 herbs, which remains almost unchanged today. In the 1950s the sweet became appreciated for its ability to be dissolved in boiling water, creating an aromatic herbal tea or tisane, which inspired Richterich to create a Ricola Herbal Tea a few years later.

In 1967, Emil Richterich and his sons Hans Peter and Alfred renamed the company Ricola, an abbreviation of Richterich & Compagnie Laufen. Export began in the 1970s, introducing Ricola's products to foreign markets in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States. At the end of the decade, Ricola moved to a new purpose-built factory in the vicinity of Laufen, where its headquarters are still located.

In 1976, after extensive research on sugar-free confectionery, Ricola launched Switzerland’s first chewable sugarless herbal sweet. Ricola first started to advertise its products on television in the 1980s, an era that saw increased awareness of the need for good dental hygiene, increasing the demand for sugar-free products such as the ones that Ricola offered. In 1985, the cooperation with Swiss farmers for the natural cultivation of herbs according to Bio Suisse standards began. The Klosterfrau Healthcare Group has been responsible for the distribution of Ricola products in Germany since 1987. In 1988 the company started packaging their products in small boxes. In 2019, sales in Germany switched to CFP Brands, a joint venture in which Ricola participated.

In 1993, the confectionery producer Disch from Othmarsingen was taken over, which was sold to the investment company Alrupa Finanz Holding in 2015. Disch produces the brands Sportmint and Mocken, which belong to Ricola.

In 2006, the company put a state-of-the-art candy factory into operation in Laufen and in 2014 the new Kräuterzentrum production building was put into operation at the same location. It is made of clay and is the largest clay house in Europe. The construction was developed by the Austrian ceramist and clay building pioneer Martin Rauch, the architects were Herzog & de Meuron.

In 2022, the company opened the first Ricola shop in Paris, where customers can also create their own sweets. In March 2023, the company opened its Ricola shop in Laufen, Switzerland.

In 2023, Ricola and IP-SUISSE agreed on a long-term partnership for the sustainable cultivation of sugar beets to produce 25,000 tons of sugar annually without the use of fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides.

In December 2023, Ricola was certified as a B Corporation by the non-profit organisation B Lab.

Ricola is a family business owned by the Richterich family; the Chairman of the Board of Directors is Felix Richterich. At the end of November 2011, he also took over the position of managing director until he was replaced by Thomas P. Meier in May 2019. Since then, the operational management of Ricola Group AG has been entirely in the hands of executives who do not belong to the owning family.

From 2014 to the end of 2018, Eva Richterich, daughter of Alfred Richterich, was Vice President of the Board of Directors of Ricola. Eva Richterich left the Board of Directors at the end of 2018 when she joined the management of Ricola Group AG. At the end of 2020, Eva Richterich left Group Management and devoted herself to her strategic role as a member of the Board of Directors of Ricola Familienholding AG. After several years in operational management, Raphael Richterich, son of Felix Richterich and representative of the fourth generation of the family, was elected to the Board of Directors of Ricola Group AG in 2018, becoming Vice President in 2019.

Ricola is a member of the Interessengemeinschaft Tee, Gewürze und verwandte Produkte (Interest Group for Tea, Spices, and Related Products; IGTG).

Ricola listed sales of 307.2 million Swiss francs in 2016 and employs 400 workers. Around 200 independent production companies in the surrounding area service Ricola. In order to obtain enough herbs for the production of its herbal drops, the firm contracts over 100 self-managed farms in the Valais, Emmental, Val Poschiavo and at the southern foot of the Jura Mountains, in central Switzerland, and in Ticino. Ricola is known for its commercials featuring Heidi (Ramona Pringle) depicting mountaineers shouting "Ri-co-la!" and blowing through a large Alphorn.

Consumer deception lawsuit

In 2022, Ricola was sued in the US for deceiving consumers. The plaintiff claimed that the packaging implied that Swiss herbs would soothe a sore throat, when in fact menthol was the only ingredient with this effect. The accuser requested US$5 million in damages. Ricola, on the other hand, claimed that it had "correctly complied with all regulations at all times". The motion was dismissed in 2024 for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.