Sauce Country

The Netherlands is a real sauces country, according to Hay Thissen. The supermarket shelves are full of them. We eat sauce with everything. But our aim is to make the most delicious products responsibly. So with less sugar, less salt, fewer e-numbers and fewer flavor enhancers. But also with an eye for the environment. We pay close attention to our energy consumption, packaging, food waste, animal welfare and the vitality of our employees.

Innovate

Hela now has ten offices worldwide with over 600 employees, 50 of whom work for the Dutch branch in Venlo.

As of March 1, the company will also become a resident of Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo. 'We have been producing and processing herbs and spice products at home and abroad for two generations. But to remain the king of Herb Ketchups, we must continue to develop and innovate. Quality and product development are very important, as is sustainability. In product development, we look very explicitly at the vegetables that come from the region. The campus is just around the corner from the vegetable auction and the market gardeners. A very convenient place therefore.

The community on and around the campus is also an important reason for the company to establish itself there. There are many start-ups on the campus that are involved in product and process innovations, among other things. As a company we can learn from them. And vice versa, of course: we can support these young companies in the area of flavor and spices. The campus is a great place where we can inspire ourselves and others.'

Seven Million

In the first year, Thissen sold about two hundred boxes of the curry imported from Germany, but that number quickly increased. Now more than 7 million bottles of the Herb Ketchup in the red plastic bottle are sold in the Netherlands alone. In more than fifty years the Venlo-based company has grown into a well-known supplier of more than 800 products that all have something to do with taste: from Herb Ketchups and dressings to sauces, herb oils, herb mixes and marinades.

Quality

The world of sauces has changed a lot in recent years, according to Hay Thissen. When my father started the company, we mainly had a trading function. But since the 1990s, we've been producing a lot of products ourselves, with quality being of paramount importance. Quality assurance and legislation are becoming more and more complicated. To compare: fifteen years ago we had one person in charge of quality, now there are four of us. The developments are moving fast and we have to anticipate them cleverly as a company.

Fresh look

The company has therefore invested heavily in rejuvenating the company in recent years. We have been around for more than fifty years and our employees have grown along with us. That's great, of course, but we're all getting older. Young people really look at the market differently than I do. It is precisely this fresh look that creates an enormous dynamic within the company. We now have a process manager in his early thirties, our manager Innovation & Product Development is in his mid-twenties and our new manager People & Culture is also around thirty. I sometimes hear: young people still have a lot to learn. But I see it differently: we still have a lot to learn from the youth.'

Region

The new campus resident has been rooted in Venlo for decades, but with the establishment on campus they also want to contribute to the further development of the region. 'Our square meters on campus are good for our company, the campus and the region!'

Source: Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo