WIBERG knows how to make the future taste really good
The vision of the Salzburg-based spice producer WIBERG is "to provide the individual with the greatest taste and enjoyment experiences whilst eating". What began in Stuhlfelden in the Pinzgau region in 1947 as an ingenious business idea by Wilhelm Berger has now grown into a global company. In 2009, over 640 employees generated sales of 122 million euros in 76 different countries. Marcus Winkler, the third-generation owner of the company, is consistently pursuing the strategy of secured, global growth in harmony with a customer- and employee-oriented corporate philosophy. Moreover, this family company manages year after year to set new quality and innovation standards in the food industry.
With WIBERG, food becomes a pleasure – both in the food production sector and in gastronomy. The story began when the founder, WIlhelm BERGer, had the idea of supplying spices and spice mixtures of constant quality to butchers for their sausages. It did not take long before the business area of sausage cuisine was expanded to include the restaurant sector. As a result, WIBERG has succeeded over the past three decades in developing into a highly regarded provider of quality, even in international gastronomy.
Nature, man and technique – the basic ingredients for this recipe for success
The spice and seasoning market is the market of good taste. This market begins right at the company’s front door in Austria, reaches across Vojvodina as far as India and ultimately encompasses the whole world. Spices are fascinating products that grow as leaves or blossoms, stems or roots in the open air and often in the wild heart of Nature; they are frequently gathered with simple tools according to time-honoured methods.
The purchasing and handling of spices as valuable natural products calls for considerable experience and sensitivity. “The primary goal is to procure the best quality available on the market and to bring out the full effect of the unique naturalness of every raw material in perfect recipe compositions. To do that, we need employees who know how to handle the enormous variety and the priceless value of these products,” says Marcus Winkler to describe the daily challenge at WIBERG and goes on: “In over 60 years, we have gathered the necessary experience and we can claim with pride that we have bridged the gap between the vagaries of Nature and the desired standardisation, naturalness and strict hygiene.”
Creative, partner-based, solution- and service-oriented - the customer relations
In the world of sausage and ham producers, WIBERG is a valuable partner for professionals and develops integral concepts both for and with its customers from the manufacture to packaging and even as far as the ideal market placement of the product. Harald Bender, meat technician, master butcher and head of the technical advice department, explains the key factors for his team and himself: “Together with the customers – that is not just a hollow phrase: it is our daily challenge. We help them directly on site, at their own production location, to bring the best out of our products for their sausage and meat specialities. To achieve this, we support the entire production process and find the optimal, tailor-made solution for every requirement.”
In the field of gastronomy, WIBERG is both a trendsetter and a quality and innovation leader. Here, foods with all their facets are constantly being rediscovered and then repeatedly re-presented in new ways with the help of extraordinary spice compositions. Alois Gasser, Head of the Team Inspiration, is a deeply passionate chef and constantly on the lookout for optimal solutions for his colleagues in the gastronomy: “It is my vocation to exploit the force of Nature with our spices, so that we can put taste and effect back in the limelight. Because good food that is correctly seasoned gives us strength. Our customers have the opportunity to create quality of life with their cuisine.”
Revolutionary and sustainable – innovations that make sense
During the course of its 60-year history, WIBERG has revolutionised and sustainably enhanced the food market with numerous innovations. The master craftsmen at WIBERG’s creative kitchen themselves come from the target group of butchers and chefs: they are artistic free spirits with comprehensive knowledge of the products, grounded in their daily exchange of experiences with the customers.
This is why the company became the first in the industry over 10 years ago to switch its entire product range for the gastronomy sector to “no added flavour enhancers”. Since then, all recipes have been free of glutens, lactose, artificial flavourings, preservatives and colouring agents.
In the target group of meat processing companies, WIBERG has caused a sensation with its further technological developments and also with the increasing naturalness of its sausage and ham recipes. The scope of its measures ranges from preservation without E-numbers to reduced-salt recipes, light and refreshing new products and even as far as natural functionality.
For Marcus Winkler, the success of these developments represents a confirmation of his attitude towards innovation. “Anyone who expects incredible inventions from our WIBERG innovations will be disappointed, because we do not see any logical point in ‘flying sausages or golden chilli threads’. Our new developments are simply designed to do more and to bring more benefits to the consumers and our customers than the products that they have previously known,” he says to explain the WIBERG philosophy.
Thinking ahead means thinking it through – the WIBERG quality campaign
It is partly due to its location in Salzburg that allows WIBERG to set new standards in terms of “better food qualities” year after year. Embedded in an untouched Nature and an outstanding agricultural industry, combined with the extremely high density of first-class restaurants and butchers, Salzburg is “the best place for thinking about food,” emphasises Marcus Winkler.
For instance, it was possible to implement an extremely dedicated and successful project with the decisive influence of the company: The Centre for Gastrosophy, which began its research work in January 2009 in the form of an “interdisciplinary centre”. “We set up of the Centre for Gastrosophy together with the University of Salzburg and renowned partners from the food industry, and we regard it as an opportunity for a long-term quality campaign for food. It is the source for well-founded development of food, because it picks up where technical training generally stops,” says the owner of WIBERG, explaining his commitment.
General information on WIBERG
WIBERG operates exclusively in the “business to business” field; in other words, the target groups of the spice manufacturer are restaurateurs, caterers, and – as the largest target group – butchers, ranging from the small delicatessen butcher to major multi-national meat product manufacturers all over the world. In 2009, the company achieved a global turnover of €122 million. At its four locations in Salzburg (headquarters), Freilassing (production), Toronto (headquarters for North America) and Los Angeles (production), WIBERG employs a total of over 640 staff. The product range consists of the taste that turns eating into a pleasure – this includes spices and ingredients for meat product manufacturers as well as spices, condiments, herbs, vinegars and oils for the restaurant industry.