Stern-Wywiol Gruppe

From single ingredients to functional systems.

Ingredients for better products

As a leading supplier of food ingredients and essential substances for animal nutrition, we have experts who will develop exactly the right ingredients for you. Let us work together to make your products better and more nutritious, and give them a longer shelf life!

Innovation

At our Stern-Technology Center, over 100 scientific experts and technologists from the food and feed industries work on developing more and more intelligent ingredients.

Competence

Our success story began in 1980, with the emulsifier lecithin. Since then, we have risen to the rank of market leader among the manufacturers of customised food ingredients.

Commitment

You know what your product should be like. We know how you can make it come out that way. Why not work with us to create an individual formulation your customers will enjoy?

The Development of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe

1980

Volkmar Wywiol acquires Stern-Chemie GmbH in Hamburg, Germany. Re-orientation of the company as a lecithin specialist.

1981

Acquisition of 50 percent of the shares in the company Berg+Schmidt GmbH, a seller of oils and fats for animal nutrition. The remaining shares are taken over by Volkmar Wywiol a year later. This marks the start of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe.

1986

Construction of the first stainless-steel tank farm in Ouderkerk, Netherlands. Publication of the book “Lecithin – the Unrivalled Nutrient” by Dr Werner Schäfer and Volkmar Wywiol.

1990

Acquisition of Mühlenchemie GmbH, Frankfurt; start of the production and development of flour improvers. A year later the company moves to Ahrensburg, near Hamburg.

1992

The American oil mill group Central Soya Inc., Fort Wayne, becomes a joint venture partner in the lecithin business. Change of the name from Stern-Chemie to Stern-Lecithin & Soya GmbH & Co KG. The company rises to become the world’s biggest supplier of lecithin.

2016

Torsten Wywiol is presented with the ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR award at the German Historical Museum in Berlin. SternMaid installs its eighth fully automated blending line. Extension of the quality control and quality management systems. Hydrosol: Enlargement of the cheese laboratory at the Stern-Technology Center with the addition of a UHT unit. SternLife: Enlargement of the product development department for food supplements in Norderstedt. Stern-Ingredients Russia: Opening of the applications laboratory for bakery and meat products in St. Petersburg.

2017

Establishment of SternMaid Asia Pacific SDN. BHD in Malaysia for the production of flour improvers, baking ingredients and vitamin premixes. Opening of the second SternMaid plant in Wittenburg for packaging retail products. Production area: 2,000 square metres; warehouse area: 2,500 square metres. Enlargement of the beverage technology department at the Stern-Technology Center in Ahrensburg, near Hamburg, with the addition of a further UHT unit. Publication of the book “Micronutrients Work” by Dr Sabine Hildebrandt, scientific director of SternVitamin, and Andrea Pütz. Reorganisation of IT management with “SternConnect”.

2018

Sales of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe exceed the half-billion-euro mark for the first time – achieved with 12 specialist companies in Germany, 16 affiliates abroad and over 1,400 employees worldwide.

Let us work together to enhance your foods and animal nutrition products, develop new products and serve the latest nutritional trends! Contact us and let us tell you more about the services we offer – with no obligation.

Torsten WywiolCEO and Management Spokesman

Our Culture

That the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe has been one of the most successful enterprises in the world of Food and Feed Ingredients for many years is due not least to our group structure. We are an owner-managed family business and think in the long term. Our 12 specialist firms work independently of each other and nevertheless benefit by the Know-How Connection shared by the whole group.