# Hero Group

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Not to be confused with Indian company [Hero Motors Company](/source/Hero_Motors_Company).

**Hero Group** is a [privately held](/source/Privately_held_company) [consumer food](/source/Food_industry) manufacturer and marketing company based in Switzerland. Focusing baby and toddler food, healthy snacks, and natural spreads,[1] the group brands include Corny Snack Bars and [Semper Baby food](https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semper).[2]

## Overview

In 1995, Dr. Arend Oetker acquired a [majority shareholding](/source/Buyout) in Hero and re-positioned the Group to focus on branded business. Business segments that no longer fitted this [brand strategy](/source/Brand_strategy) were divested. In parallel, the Group embarked on a major geographic expansion program.[citation needed]

Today, Hero is producing products in its core product categories. The Group's operations are based predominantly in [Europe](/source/Europe), [North America](/source/North_America), [Middle East](/source/Middle_East)/[Africa](/source/Africa) and [Turkey](/source/Turkey)/[Central Asia](/source/Central_Asia).

## History

The Hero Group was founded in 1886 in Lenzburg, Switzerland by Gustav Henckell and Gustav Zeiler, two German immigrants.

In 1888, investor Carl Roth joined the business.[3] After Zeiler’s death in 1890, the first two letters of Henckell and Roth's names were combined to name the company ‘Hero Conserven Lenzbourg’.

In 1995, [Arend Oetker](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arend_Oetker) took a majority holding in Hero with full ownership of the company being transferred to the Oetker family in 2003.[4][5]

In 2024, Hero bought the 'Deliciously Ella' brand, founded by [Ella Mills](/source/Ella_Mills).[6]

## References

1. ["Hero Group Divests Nordic Gluten-Free Business To Dr. Schär"](https://www.esmmagazine.com/a-brands/hero-group-divests-nordic-gluten-free-business-to-dr-schar-248291). *ESM Magazine*. 2023-09-18. Retrieved 2024-06-28.

1. Harvey, Simon (2022-11-18). ["Switzerland's Hero Group invests in new Spanish factory for baby food"](https://www.just-food.com/news/switzerlands-hero-group-invests-in-new-spanish-factory-for-baby-food/). *Just Food*. Retrieved 2024-06-28.

1. [*International Directory of Company Histories*](https://books.google.com/books?id=OhkeAQAAMAAJ&q=Gustav+Henckell). St. James Press. 1988. ISBN 978-1-55862-634-8.

1. Breiding, R. James (2013-01-10). [*Swiss Made: The Untold Story Behind Switzerland's Success*](https://books.google.com/books?id=mnkYFt6pijoC&q=Gustav+Henckell&pg=PT52). Profile Books. ISBN 978-1-84765-809-8.

1. Holmes, Madelyn (1988). [*Forgotten Migrants: Foreign Workers in Switzerland Before World War I*](https://books.google.com/books?id=7_AxDs2SkdwC&dq=Gustav+Henckell&pg=PA66). Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. ISBN 978-0-8386-3304-5.

1. Wood, Zoe (17 September 2024). ["Deliciously Ella vegan food brand sold to Swiss group Hero"](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/sep/17/deliciously-ella-health-food-brand-bought-ella-mills). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 21 September 2024.

## External links

- [Official Site](http://www.hero-group.ch/)
- [Hero Switzerland](http://www.hero.ch/)
- [Hero Benelux](http://www.hero.nl/)
- [Hero Spain](http://www.hero.es/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hero Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_Group) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_Group?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.