Our roots

In winter, empty cans are produced; in summer these are filled with peas, beans, spinach and apple sauce. In 1936, the company is renamed Scana AG. In the mid-1950s, Toni Hilti builds a modern canning factory featuring high-performance filling and sealing equipment. Up to 100 cans can be processed each minute. In 1961, Scana begins to produce ready meals. The first frozen products roll off the production line just under a decade later. In 1973, the company is renamed Hilcona AG für moderne Ernährung (Hilcona = Hilti, Convenience (canned) und Nahrungsmittel (foods)).

Jürgen and Ekkehard Hilti continue their father’s legacy with the same business creativity and striving for technological advancement to produce delicious food. In 1984, they score a hit which still stands today: fresh, premium quality pasta. The products generate strong growth and overtake the frozen range. This top seller places Hilcona in the lead among manufacturers in the German-speaking world. Hilcona still to this day only produces own brands belonging to Swiss retailers. Incidentally: fresh pasta remains an important product group for Hilcona AG.

The company serves the European market from these distribution locations. At peak times, Hilcona delivers 75% of the pasta it produces to EU countries and it becomes the market leader in the German fresh pasta market. Today, Hilcona sells its fresh product range in most European countries. Its most important markets are Germany, Austria and Benelux. Hilcona is one of the most important employers in the Principality of Liechtenstein.

New millennium, new approach: a new era began for the company with a new dual strategy – Hilcona became a brand manufacturer and producer of private labels. The Food Service product range, launched in the mid-1970s, also benefits greatly from the Hilcona brand. Hilcona’s new subsidiary Hilcona Fresh Express is also giving it a way into the Swiss impulse shopping market at petrol station shops and kiosks.

Since then Hilcona has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bell Food Group. Hilcona took over Frostag Food-Centrum AG in Landquart in 2017 and initiated its transformation into a competence centre for vegetarian products. As part of the Bell Food Group, Hilcona is expanding its European activities, strengthening its local sites and continuing to set trends in the industry.