The beginnings of the Windel Group date back to 1900. It is in that year that Ludwig Windel establishes a confectionery wholesale business in Osnabrück. Over several decades, this grows to become an internationally operating group of companies that never loses its family character despite all the growth and change.
Windel - A success story spanning generations
The company is founded in 1900 as a confectionery wholesaler and remains a regional confectionery and spirits wholesale business until the 1960s. As well as confectionery, the company trades in fish and delicatessen products, and the manufacturing of pudding mix is another of Windel’s business segments in the first two generations of owners. The foundation stone for the dynamic development is laid by the third generation: In 1966, Alfred and Mechthild Windel begin efficiently and inexpensively making traditional switches for the Feast of St. Nicholas, having previously seen them occasionally in candy stores. Their first customers are the large department stores. The idea of combined articles (comprising food and non-food components) is born, and Windel becomes more and more an industrial company. In the fourth generation of owners, Fred Windel resolutely and purposefully pursues the initiated expansion, founding the Windel Group, which now comprises five companies.
