Schwarz Produktion

Schwarz Produktion is the umbrella brand (Dachmarke) of the manufacturing operations of the Schwarz Group, one of Europe's largest retail groups and the parent of the Lidl and Kaufland retail chains. Legally it operates as Schwarz Produktion Stiftung & Co. KG, and the brand name "Schwarz Produktion" was entered as a European Union trade mark in the register of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office on 15 February 2020. Its core purpose is to supply the retail divisions of the Schwarz Group with own-brand food, beverages, sustainable packaging and materials, giving the group greater control over quality, cost and supply security. According to the company, roughly 5,500 employees produce food, beverages, plastic packaging and paper for Kaufland and Lidl. Its product range spans beverages, baked goods, chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, ice cream, coffee, pasta, jam and honey, as well as recyclable, renewable and biodegradable printing paper. These products are sold under various private labels in Lidl and Kaufland stores in more than 30 countries worldwide. The company describes itself as a reliable producer of high-quality food, sustainable packaging and materials for its retail partners, combining modern automated facilities with food quality and taste. Schwarz Produktion is organised around two intermediate holdings that each publish their own annual financial statements: the Sindra KG, based in Übach-Palenberg, which bundles the food manufacturing companies (Bonback, Bon Gelati, Bon Pasta, Bon Presso and Solent), and the PHO G GmbH & Co. KG, based in Weißenfels, which bundles the beverage-producing activities and recycling. The two are sister companies whose subsidiaries are grouped under the Schwarz Produktion brand. The beverage business traces its roots to the MEG group, which emerged in 1998 as a holding from the Leißlinger Mineralbrunnen founded in 1889; the Schwarz Group has owned MEG since 2008. The company has expanded its portfolio strategically since 2010, adding chocolate, dried fruit, baked goods and ice cream, then coffee and pasta in 2022, printing paper in 2023, and jam and honey in 2025. It also expanded internationally, opening its first foreign production site, the MEG Derby beverage plant in the United Kingdom, in 2023. Sustainability is a stated priority, framed through its "Schwarz Produktion 2025" programme covering occupational safety, climate protection and resource stewardship.

Schwarz Produktion is the umbrella brand of the manufacturing operations of the Schwarz Group, the German retail group behind Lidl and Kaufland. The brand "Schwarz Produktion" was entered as a European Union trade mark in the register of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office on 15 February 2020. Legally the operations are conducted under the name Schwarz Produktion Stiftung & Co. KG. The roots of the business lie in beverage production. The MEG group (formerly Mitteldeutsche Erfrischungsgetränke GmbH & Co. KG) is described by the company as the entrepreneurial foundation stone of today's Schwarz Produktion, and MEG is one of the leading soft-drink producers in Germany. The MEG group emerged in 1998 as a holding from the Leißlinger Mineralbrunnen, a mineral spring company based in Leißling that had existed since 1889 and became known through the brands Leißlinger Köhler and Thüringer Gesundbrunnen. It was founded by Max Reitwiesner and run as a family business from 1907. From 1972 to 1990 the company was nationalised and attached to the VEB Getränkekombinat Dessau; after reprivatisation in 1990, Christian Künzer, grandson of founder Max Reitwiesner, took over the business. The MEG beverage division expanded between 2000 and 2002 through the acquisition of MEG Jessen GmbH (formerly Himmelsberger Mineralbrunnen GmbH), MEG Löningen GmbH (formerly Weser-Ems Erfrischungsgetränke GmbH) and MEG Kirkel GmbH (formerly Kirkeler Erfrischungsgetränke GmbH). In 2014 MEG Wörth am Rhein (formerly Pfälzer Erfrischungsgetränke GmbH) was added. In 2006 the MEG headquarters moved from Leißling to neighbouring Weißenfels. Künzer later sold his shares in several steps to the Schwarz Group, which has owned the MEG group since 2008. Alongside beverages, MEG developed plastic and recycling activities. Since 2010, together with the Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG, the group has built up and acquired its own recycling capacities, where deposit bottles collected in the reverse vending machines of the Schwarz Group's retail businesses are recycled. Large parts of the own-brand beverages produced for Kaufland and Lidl are now filled into so-called circular bottles made from 100% recycled material and delivered back to the group's retail stores. Three plastic and recycling plants form the basis of this cycle: MEG Roßbach GmbH (formerly Roßbacher Kunststoffverarbeitungs GmbH) in Braunsbedra, acquired in 2000 as the first plant for producing PET bottle preforms and closures; MEG Neuensalz GmbH (formerly Vogtland PET GmbH), which since 2011 has produced regranulate from single-use PET bottles returned through the deposit system; and MEG Übach-Palenberg GmbH, which since 2015 has produced both PET regranulate and PET preforms. Since 2010 the company has worked on the strategic expansion of its product portfolio and has opened up new markets. After chocolate, dried fruit, baked goods and ice cream, it began producing coffee and pasta in 2022. In 2023 it started producing printing paper, and in 2023 its first international production site went into operation: the MEG Derby beverage plant in the United Kingdom, with an annual production capacity of 380 million bottles. In 2024 the Bonback Halle (Saale), formerly ARTiBack, joined Schwarz Produktion, supplying the Lidl and Kaufland bake-off shops with baked goods. In 2025 the portfolio was expanded with jam and honey, and the expansion of the Bonback Halle (Saale) site began, including a new frozen-goods high-bay warehouse and more than 400 new jobs in the region. Today Schwarz Produktion is organised through two intermediate holdings that each publish their own annual financial statements. The PHO G GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 2020 and based in Weißenfels, Saxony-Anhalt, bundles all activities for beverage production, packaging production and recycling; its management consists of Jens Balakin, Marc Kögel and Frank Schmidt, and in the 2023/24 financial year it generated revenue of 595.96 million euros with 1,371 employees. It acts as the parent company of the MEG group. The Sindra KG, based in Übach-Palenberg, bundles the companies producing chocolate, nuts and dried fruit, baked goods, fruit spreads and jam, ice cream, coffee and pasta; its management consists of Olaf Richtscheid, Michael Molsberger and Tobias Hartjen, and in the 2023/24 financial year it generated revenue of 1.949 billion euros. The Sindra food works have been built in Übach-Palenberg since 2008 on a 250,000 m² site, initially with a chocolate plant and continuously expanded since; plants in Waldfeucht-Haaren, Rheine and Erfurt also belong to Sindra, which invests between 100 and 150 million euros per year in expanding and building plants and production facilities. The two holdings are sister companies whose subsidiaries are grouped under the Schwarz Produktion brand.

• 2025

  Portfolio expanded with jam and honey; expansion of Bonback Halle (Saale) started

• 2024

  Bonback Halle (Saale), formerly ARTiBack, joins Schwarz Produktion

• 2023

  Printing paper production started; MEG Derby plant in the UK begins operations

• 2022

  Coffee and pasta production added

• 2020

  Brand "Schwarz Produktion" entered as an EU trade mark on 15 February; PHO G GmbH & Co. KG founded

• 2015

  MEG Übach-Palenberg GmbH starts producing PET regranulate and preforms

• 2014

  MEG Wörth am Rhein added to the group

• 2011

  MEG Neuensalz GmbH starts producing PET regranulate

• 2010

  Start of strategic portfolio expansion and build-up of recycling capacities with Lidl

• 2008

  Schwarz Group becomes owner of the MEG group

• 2006

  MEG headquarters moves from Leißling to Weißenfels

• 2000

  MEG Roßbach GmbH acquired as the first PET preform and closure plant

• 2000

  MEG beverage division expands through acquisitions (2000–2002)

• 1998

  MEG group emerges as a holding from Leißlinger Mineralbrunnen

• 1990

  Reprivatisation; Christian Künzer takes over the business

• 1972

  Nationalisation and attachment to VEB Getränkekombinat Dessau

• 1907

  The mineral spring company is run as a family business

• 1889

  Leißlinger Mineralbrunnen, the origin of the MEG beverage business, is founded

Reliable producer of high-quality food, sustainable packaging and materials for the retail partners Lidl and Kaufland; benchmark for retail products and success factor for retail.

• MEG mineral waters and soft drinks

  Beverages produced by the MEG group, one of Germany's leading soft-drink producers

• Bonback baked goods

  Baked goods supplying the bake-off shops of Lidl and Kaufland

• Bon Gelati ice cream

  Ice cream produced within the Sindra holding

• Bon Pasta pasta

  Pasta added to the portfolio in 2022

• Bon Presso coffee

  Coffee added to the portfolio in 2022

• Maxau printing paper

  Environmentally friendly printing paper produced in Maxau

• PET recycling and circular bottles

  Recyclable PET packaging and bottles made from 100% recycled material

• Chocolate, nuts and dried fruit

  Produced within the Sindra holding

• Jam and honey

  Added to the portfolio in 2025

1. 1Startseite – Schwarz Produktionschwarz-produktion.com
2. 2Geschichte – Schwarz Produktionschwarz-produktion.com
3. 3Über Uns – Schwarz Produktionschwarz-produktion.com
4. 4Was wir tun – Schwarz Produktionschwarz-produktion.com
5. 5Schwarz Produktion – Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Schwarz Produktion – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org