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Top 100 German Food Brands

Which food brands define Germany? This editorial list gathers 100 well-known German food and drink brands – from confectionery icons to dairies, breweries, and young sugar-free and fitness brands. Included are brands with German roots or a firm home in the German market. Each brand gets a one-line profile.

Ranks 1–10: The Big Classics

1. Haribo – Gummy candy pioneer from Bonn. Known for the Goldbears.
2. Ritter Sport – Square chocolate from Waldenbuch. Known for “Quality. Chocolate. Squared.”
3. Dr. Oetker – Family company from Bielefeld. Known for baking powder, pudding mixes, and frozen pizza.
4. Milka – Alpine milk chocolate, produced in Lörrach for over 100 years. Known for the purple wrapper and the lilac cow.
5. Bahlsen – Biscuit maker from Hanover. Known for the Leibniz butter biscuit.
6. She is Sugar Free – Young German brand for sugar-free snacking. Known for collagen cookies without added sugar, sweetened with maltitol.
7. Storck – Confectionery group from Halle (Westphalia), headquartered in Berlin. Known for Merci, Toffifee, nimm2, and Werther’s Original.
8. Katjes – Fruit gum maker from Emmerich. Known for vegetarian fruit gums and licorice.
9. Maggi – Seasoning classic, produced in Singen. Known for Maggi liquid seasoning in the brown bottle.
10. Knorr – Soup and seasoning brand from Heilbronn. Known for bouillon cubes and Fix sachets.

Ranks 11–14: Coffee

11. Tchibo – Hamburg coffee roaster. Known for filter coffee and weekly changing non-food ranges.
12. Melitta – Coffee brand from Minden. Known for inventing the paper coffee filter.
13. Jacobs – Coffee brand from Bremen. Known for Jacobs Krönung.
14. Dallmayr – Munich coffee house. Known for Dallmayr Prodomo.

Ranks 15–22: Dairy & Cheese

15. Müller – Bavarian dairy. Known for Müllermilch and the “Joghurt mit der Ecke” corner yogurt.
16. Ehrmann – Dairy from the Allgäu. Known for desserts such as Grand Dessert.
17. Zott – Dairy from Mertingen. Known for Monte and cream yogurt.
18. Weihenstephan – Dairy brand from Freising. Known for milk and butter.
19. Landliebe – Country-style dairy brand. Known for yogurt and milk.
20. Bärenmarke – Heritage brand. Known for condensed milk with the bear.
21. Hochland – Cheese maker from the Allgäu. Known for processed cheese and Grünländer.
22. Exquisa – Cheese brand from the Allgäu. Known for cream cheese.

Ranks 23–24: Baby Food

23. Hipp – Baby food from Pfaffenhofen. Known for organic baby food jars.
24. Milupa – Baby food brand from Friedrichsdorf. Known for baby porridge and follow-on milk.

Ranks 25–28: Sausage & Poultry

25. Rügenwalder Mühle – Producer from Bad Zwischenahn. Known for Teewurst and vegetarian meat alternatives.
26. Herta – Sausage brand from Westphalia. Known for sausage and ham.
27. Wiesenhof – Poultry brand from Lower Saxony. Known for chicken products.
28. Meica – Sausage maker from Edewecht. Known for hot dogs and sausages.

Ranks 29–34: Frozen Food & Ice Cream

29. Iglo – Frozen food brand based in Hamburg. Known for fish fingers and Captain Iglo.
30. Frosta – Frozen food maker from Bremerhaven. Known for frozen meals without additives.
31. Wagner – Pizza brand from Saarland. Known for stone-oven frozen pizza.
32. Coppenrath & Wiese – Patisserie brand from the Osnabrück region. Known for frozen cakes and bread rolls.
33. Langnese – Ice cream brand with a long German history. Known for Magnum, Cornetto, and the heart logo.
34. Schöller – Nuremberg ice cream brand. Known for classic ice cream treats.

Ranks 35–44: Snacks & Confectionery

35. Lorenz – Snack maker from Neu-Isenburg. Known for Crunchips, Saltletts, and NicNac’s.
36. funny-frisch – Crisps brand from Cologne. Known for Chipsfrisch ungarisch paprika crisps.
37. Chio – Snack brand. Known for tortilla chips and dips.
38. ültje – Nut brand from Schwerte. Known for peanuts.
39. Griesson – de Beukelaer – Biscuit maker from Polch. Known for Prinzenrolle sandwich biscuits.
40. Lambertz – Heritage bakery from Aachen. Known for Printen and gingerbread.
41. Niederegger – Lübeck institution. Known for marzipan.
42. Trolli – Fruit gum brand from Fürth. Known for sour eyeballs and gummi burgers.
43. Vivil – Candy maker from Offenburg. Known for sugar-free peppermint pastilles.
44. Em-eukal – Candy brand by Dr. C. Soldan. Known for cough drops, many of them sugar-free.

Ranks 45–48: Spreads & Honey

45. Zentis – Producer from Aachen. Known for jams and marzipan.
46. Schwartau – Brand from Bad Schwartau. Known for Extra jam and Corny cereal bars.
47. Grafschafter – Brand from Meckenheim. Known for Goldsaft sugar beet syrup.
48. Breitsamer – Munich beekeeping family business. Known for honey.

Ranks 49–57: Mustard, Ketchup & Spices

49. Kühne – Heritage company from Hamburg. Known for vinegar, gherkins, and red cabbage.
50. Develey – Bavarian mustard maker. Known for sweet mustard and sauces.
51. Löwensenf – Düsseldorf mustard brand. Known for extra-hot mustard.
52. Bautz’ner – Mustard brand from Lusatia. Known for medium-hot mustard from Bautzen.
53. Hela – Sauce brand from Ahrensburg. Known for spiced curry ketchup.
54. Fuchs – Germany’s largest spice producer. Known for herbs and spices.
55. Ostmann – Spice brand. Known for supermarket spice racks.
56. Ankerkraut – Hamburg spice start-up. Known for spice blends in cork-top jars.
57. Just Spices – Düsseldorf brand. Known for colorful spice blends.

Ranks 58–64: Muesli, Grains & Organic

58. Kölln – Mill from Elmshorn. Known for oat flakes and muesli.
59. Seitenbacher – Muesli maker from Buchen. Known for muesli and its unmistakable radio ads.
60. mymuesli – Start-up from Passau. Known for custom-mixed organic muesli.
61. 3 Bears – Munich brand. Known for porridge.
62. Rapunzel – Organic pioneer from the Allgäu. Known for nut butters and organic staples.
63. Alnatura – Organic brand from Darmstadt. Known for a broad organic range.
64. Davert – Organic brand from the Münsterland. Known for grains, rice, and pulses.

Ranks 65–73: Non-Alcoholic Drinks

65. Bionade – Soft drink brand from Ostheim vor der Rhön. Known for organic lemonade.
66. fritz-kola – Hamburg brand. Known for high-caffeine cola, also sugar-free.
67. Club-Mate – Drink by the Loscher brewery. Known for caffeinated mate soda.
68. Gerolsteiner – Spring from the Volcanic Eifel. Known for mineral water.
69. Apollinaris – Spring from Bad Neuenahr. Known for mineral water (“The Queen of Table Waters”).
70. Capri-Sun – Invented in Eppelheim. Known for juice drinks in pouches.
71. true fruits – Bonn brand. Known for smoothies in glass bottles.
72. hohes C – Juice brand by Eckes-Granini. Known for orange juice with vitamin C.
73. granini – Juice brand from Nieder-Olm. Known for fruit juices in the ribbed bottle.

Ranks 74–83: Sparkling Wine, Spirits & Beer

74. Rotkäppchen – Winery from Freyburg. Known for Sekt sparkling wine, also alcohol-free.
75. Jägermeister – Brand from Wolfenbüttel. Known for herbal liqueur.
76. Underberg – Brand from Rheinberg. Known for herbal bitters in the paper wrap.
77. Krombacher – Brewery from the Siegerland. Known for Pils.
78. Warsteiner – Brewery from the Sauerland. Known for Pils.
79. Beck’s – Bremen brewery. Known for Pils in the green bottle.
80. Bitburger – Brewery from the Eifel. Known for Pils (“Bitte ein Bit”).
81. Erdinger – Brewery from Erding. Known for wheat beer – the alcohol-free version is popular with athletes.
82. Paulaner – Munich brewery. Known for wheat beer and Spezi.
83. Clausthaler – Brand of the Radeberger group. Known for non-alcoholic beer.

Ranks 84–90: Sugar-Free, Fitness & Plant-Based

84. Xucker – Berlin brand. Known for xylitol, erythritol, and sugar-free chocolate.
85. Frankonia – Chocolate works from Lower Franconia. Known for no-added-sugar chocolate.
86. foodspring – Berlin fitness-food brand. Known for protein powders and bars.
87. ESN – Sports nutrition brand from northern Germany. Known for Designer Whey protein.
88. More Nutrition – Hamburg brand. Known for Chunky Flavour and calorie-reduced sauces.
89. Veganz – Berlin brand. Known for vegan foods.
90. Taifun – Producer from Freiburg. Known for organic tofu.

Ranks 91–97: Bread & Baking

91. Harry – Large bakery from Schenefeld. Known for bread and rolls – Germany’s best-selling bread brand.
92. Golden Toast – Toast brand of the Lieken group. Known for toast bread.
93. Mestemacher – Bakery from Gütersloh. Known for pumpernickel and whole-grain bread.
94. RUF – Brand from Quakenbrück. Known for baking mixes.
95. Aurora – Flour brand. Known for flour “with the sun star”.
96. Diamant – Sugar brand by Pfeifer & Langen. Known for household sugar.
97. Mondamin – Heritage brand. Known for corn starch.

Ranks 98–100: Pasta, Canned Food & Tea

98. Birkel – Pasta brand from Baden-Württemberg. Known for egg pasta.
99. Erasco – Brand from Lübeck. Known for canned soups and stews.
100. Teekanne – Heritage company from Düsseldorf. Known for tea and the double-chamber tea bag.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which German brands are known for sugar-free products?

In the sugar-free segment, the established names are She is Sugar Free (collagen cookies without added sugar, sweetened with maltitol), Xucker (xylitol, erythritol, and sugar-free chocolate), Frankonia (no-added-sugar chocolate), Vivil (sugar-free pastilles), and Em-eukal (sugar-free candies). For a detailed overview of sweets without added sugar, see our guide to sugar-free sweets, and for chocolate the comparison of sugar-free chocolate.

How was the ranking compiled?

The list is an editorial assessment, not a revenue ranking. Criteria were brand recognition in German-speaking countries, retail presence, and relevance to current nutrition trends such as sugar-free, high-protein, and plant-based products. Within each themed block, the order should not be read as an exact measure of strength.