Page 24 - Hafen Hamburg Magazin

■ PORT OF TASTE
Lübeck marzipan for gourmets
Made with love. That’s the slogan of Niederegger’s famous almond-based speciality. Since 1806, the family firm has been producing its raw marzipan paste entirely itself and in the Hanseatic City of Lübeck. “Our core target group are gourmets who prize something special of top quality,” says CEO Theresa Mehrens-Strait.
The raw marzipan is the product of an elaborate, tra- ditional roasting process in the ‘Almond Kitchen’. This paste is then transformed into the company’s famous specialities in state-of-the-art production facilities. A lot of finishing is by hand, as staff equipped with brushes and food colourings give ‘lucky piglets’ and Santa Clauses their individual expressions.
THE BALTIC LINK
The firm’s corporate design – the venerable Holsten- tor – refers to the Hanseatic City as its authentic base. The choice of location was initially based on the trade routes that made Lübeck a hub for spices, almonds and sugar. The site meanwhile offers fresh advantag- es. With the Baltic so close, from its cutting-edge or- der-picking warehouse Niederegger supplies markets in Scandinavia and the Baltic, also the nearby pur- chasing centres of such supermarket giants as Edeka Nord, famila Nordost and Citti.
Nor should proximity to Hamburg and its port be un- derestimated. Along the autobahn, refrigerated trucks loaded with marzipan can reach the city on the Elbe within roughly 45 minutes. Niederegger exports more than 300 different products by sea or as airfreight. These include traditional marzipan loaves, fine choco- lates, picturesque figurines, sweet liqueurs and sea- sonal favourites despatched to numerous countries around the world. Niederegger sends the sweet- meats to over 35 countries, exports accounting for
approximately 20 percent of total revenues. The Unit- ed Kingdom, the USA and Russia top the list. Yet peo- ple in Asia are also acquiring a taste for marzipan. Almonds as the main ingredients regularly arrive from Spain in the Port of Hamburg by sea aboard contain- erships. A vast quantity is required for one year’s pro- duction, which along with the traditional choco- late-coated marzipan, includes many special production lines. Niederegger’s modellers take marzi- pan to shape cakes featuring special logos, container- ships, trucks or whatever the customer dreams up.
24 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | June 2020
©Niederegger
©Niederegger