Dynasties in North Rhine-Westphalia: Lambertz – The Cookie Kings from Aachen
The man at the head of the biscuit-making company Lambertz is Germany's most dazzling and glamourous businessman: Dr. Hermann Bühlbecker. He throws extravagant parties and hobnobs with the likes of Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, Boris Becker and Mario Adorf. Yet the last scion of the Lambertz dynasty has above all used his ostentatious galas and appearances at innumerable parties to increase the profile of his business and steer it along the fast track to success.??The history of the Lambertz company reaches back into the 17th century, when the imperial crown granted Henry Lambertz a license to open a bakery on the market square in Aachen. With the sale of the first "Bildprinten" or molded sweet biscuits on this site, the story of what remains the oldest brand-name company in Germany began.
Admittedly, it wasn't until the 19th century that Lambertz was able to attract the attention of a significant portion of the consumer market for long-life sweet baked goods. The company revolutionized its manufacturing process by streamlining the shape of its biscuits, shifting from the labour-intensive "Bildprinte" to a simple brown rectangle –– today's well-known "Lambertz Spice Biscuit". The result was a treat that everyone could afford to buy.
But the real breakthrough came in 1872 with the invention of Germany's first chocolate-covered biscuit, the "Schokoladenprinte". Lambertz was appointed official supplier to the royal courts of Prussia, Bavaria, Belgium and the Netherlands, and has been growing ever since.
In spite of its success, the mid-1970s saw the company, with 300 employees and 8 million euros in annual sales, on the brink of bankruptcy. Then, in 1978, 28-year-old Hermann Bühlbecker stepped in to take charge. Within a short time he had completely revamped the business, developing a new corporate image and a new design for Lambertz packaging, expanding the product range, and negotiating contracts with major supermarket chains to supply their seasonal biscuit selections. It was a recipe for success: by the early 1990s these changes had brought a twenty-fold increase in revenues. Bühlbecker also engineered the takeover of Lambertz' traditional rivals Kinkartz and Haeberlein-Metzger, thus creating one of the largest biscuit manufacturers in Germany and the largest producer of "Lebkuchen", a variety of gingerbread, in the world.
With the support of WDR, Bildersturm Filmproduktion writer Peter Scharf sketches the history of the Lambertz company and explores the marketing strategy of its current head. Bühlbecker's visibility at charity galas and VIP events all over the globe has ensured that the name Lambertz continues to make headlines in the popular press. Drawing on the insights of close friends such as Natassja Kinski and Rainer Calmund, Scharf observes how Bühlbecker, with his mane of grey hair and ultra-stylish outfits, projects the image of a film star or fashion icon and tempts partygoers such as Veronica Ferres, Hans-Dieter Genscher, Rita Süssmuth, Linda Evans and Angela Merkel with his company's signature sweets.
A film by WDR, 2008
45 min. documentary
Director: Peter Scharf
Photographer: Steffen Bohn
Sound: Jule Buerjes
Editor: Oliver Held
Production Manager: Monika Mack
Producer: Sabine de Mardt
Commissioning Editor: Christiane Hinz
