Paulig is an international, family-owned food and drink company, founded in 1876. Paulig offers a wide variety of Tex-Mex products and concepts, snacks, coffees, World Foods and spices. Among the company's brands are Santa Maria, Paulig, Conimex, Poco Loco and Zanuy. Paulig also manufactures products for industry and private label customers. The company has 2800 employees across 13 countries.
History
Foundation and early years (1871–1907)
Paulig was founded in 1876 by Gustav Wilhelm Paulig, a merchant from Lübeck, Germany (then German Empire), who had trained with the trading house Piehl & Fehling, a supplier of colonial goods to Finland. After moving to Finland in 1871 to work for Nokia Ltd, he established his own trading and agency business in Helsinki, dealing in coffee, spices, sugar, oils, rice, and dried fruit. Within its first year, the firm imported over 300,000 kilograms of green coffee—around seven per cent of Finland's total coffee imports.
By the 1880s, Gustav Paulig had begun roasting coffee himself in small rotating drums, leading to the creation of Finland's first commercial coffee-roasting operation in 1904. He designed the company's “P” trademark, officially registered in 1905. Paulig's strict commitment to quality and business ethics defined his approach, captured in his maxim: “Never compromise on quality.” Following his death in 1907, the business passed to his wife Bertha Paulig, who became one of Finland's first female corporate leaders.