40 years of PRONATEC

As a Swiss family-owned business since 1976, PRONATEC has been committed to sourcing high-quality organic raw materials directly from long-standing partners in the country of origin for 40 years. In this way, PRONATEC supports the establishment of sustainable projects in developing countries, strengthens the environment and promotes local social structures.

Introduce a healthy, tooth-friendly sugar in Europe – that was Albert Yersin’s motivation when he launched PRONATEC AG in 1976. His idea was based on long-term studies by Swiss paediatrician Dr Max-Henry Béguin, which showed that children who consistently eat whole cane sugar tend to have little tooth decay.

After extensive research, a drying process was developed with which PRONATEC produced the first whole cane sugar in Switzerland. This product was launched under the brand name SUCANAT^®. Soon, the first chocolate sweetened exclusively with whole cane sugar was developed. Thanks to rising sales volumes, the company was able to set up various projects in Latin American.

With David Yersin now at the helm, in its 2nd generation PRONATEC AG is even more strongly committed to the philosophies of organic and Fairtrade operation. Looking for new customer segments, David recognised the industry’s need for a raw cane sugar with a less intense flavour. As a result, PRONATEC launched the world’s first organic-certified raw cane sugar, SYRAMENA^®, which then went on to achieve Fairtrade certification.

Motivated by valuable know-how on organic-certified products, PRONATEC AG brought out the first organic-certified and Max Havelaar-certified chocolate – ‘Made in Switzerland’, of course.

But it soon became clear that there was not enough certified cocoa available. So David Yersin looked for opportunities for cooperative ventures to obtain cocoa beans, and in 1999 he and local partners set up the subsidiary company YACAO SRL in the Yamasà region of the Dominican Republic.

Over several years, further organic and Fairtrade cocoa projects were established in Peru (from 2001), Panama (from 2001) and Ecuador (from 2005).

In 2005, PRONATEC started extensive cooperation with its Swiss partner in Madagascar and local cooperatives.  Out of this grew the joint company Premium Spices SRL, focusing on the buying, processing and export of vanilla and spices from 2010.

Other innovations in the area of semi-finished cocoa products and private-label chocolates followed. Organic and Fairtrade-certified cocoa products, chocolate for the food industry (chocolate coatings) and retail, as well as vanilla and spices, have now also become significant core businesses of PRONATEC.

Thanks to the close cooperation between local employees and Swiss staff on site, PRONATEC has been able to enter into long-term partnerships and assume social responsibility. Working and production conditions are in line with our strict quality guidelines so that we can make sure to meet all certification requirements. Despite innovation and growth, one thing has not changed: PRONATEC buys directly from smallholder cooperatives and not on the global food market.

The sale of exquisite-tasting raw materials, the consistent focus on healthy foods and a pioneering spirit are our main drivers to this day. Fair conduct towards customers, producers, business partners, society and the environment form the backbone of our commitment to offering the finest organic raw materials.

A commitment which has yielded outstanding results: Hundreds of processing plants and millions of consumers throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia benefit daily from our forty years of experience in organic foods.

Today, 35 people work at the company’s headquarters in Winterthur and around 300 are employed by subsidiaries in the countries of origin. The company exports its products to a number of countries in Europe, North America and Asia, and generates turnover of approx. CHF 70 million a year.