A family business for three generations.
Rathgeb Bio is a family business in Unterstammheim in the canton of Zurich. For three generations the Rathgeb family has been growing vegetables and potatoes, organically since 1994. Today the company is run by Christian Rathgeb.
Organic since 1994 – this is our 33rd organic harvest.
Naturally sustainable. That is what we stand for.
As on many farms, the business is a family matter with us too. Rathgeb Bio has grown the way it has largely because we look after not only quality and customers, but everyone who works with us, with a family eye. This has proved its worth over decades. That is why we are sticking with it.
As farmers, vegetable growers and service providers, we live organic. Our products stand for sustainable nutrition and a big helping of enjoyment. Three values hold everything together:
Collaborative
We meet customers, suppliers and employees as equals – honestly, respectfully and with appreciation. With flat hierarchies, short decision paths and fair value for money.
Well-founded
Over 50 years of experience as a family business, certified quality and a long-term outlook. Responsibility for the environment and people is a matter of course for us.
High-performing
Modern technologies, digital processes and employees who keep training. We set high standards for ourselves and are open to new things.
Christian Rathgeb“And one thing stays as it is: Rathgeb is and remains an organic pioneer.”
Unterstammheim, Ellikon an der Thur, Tägerwilen
employees, of whom around 50 are seasonal employees
cultivated area
for our seasonal employees, right next to the farm
One family. One philosophy. Several businesses.
Rathgeb BioProdukte AG and Thurtaler Gemüse AG
Unterstammheim: freshness in many varieties. Everything here revolves around open-field cultivation – from carrots and organic potatoes to vegetables for processing.
ThurBio AG
Ellikon an der Thur: vegetables under glass. Among other things, tomatoes of various varieties grow in our greenhouses in Ellikon. [Confirm description with Rathgeb]
BioFresh AG
Tägerwilen: growth all year round. Since 2005 we have been running the former greenhouses of Biotta AG here, since 2014 with a modern greenhouse of 1.6 hectares. The heat comes from a wood-chip heating system that also supplies the neighbouring Biotta AG.
Rathgeb BioLog AG
Unterstammheim: logistics for organic. After the harvest, BioLog takes over: it stores, trims, washes and packs to customer requirements and delivers regionally and nationally – sometimes several times a day.
History of Rathgeb Bio: from 1971 to today.
From a field in Wangen to an organic farm with three sites. A short history lesson – from today back to way back when.
2020–2026: [Add milestones]
[Ask Rathgeb for dates – for example the new ThurBio AG greenhouse in Ellikon an der Thur, first fully electric lorry, award for the cabbage for sauerkraut.]
2025: 50 years in Unterstammheim
Half a century in the Stammertal: we moved here in 1975, and today we are an organic farm with three sites.
2024: 30 years of organic
We have been growing organically for three decades.
2019: Wood heating for the greenhouses
In November we put a wood-chip heating system into operation in Tägerwilen. Together with Biotta, we are relying on wood and breaking new ground in energy supply.
2018: The new staff house
In Unterstammheim we move into our new staff house – built to Minergie standard from local timber. Around 50 seasonal employees now live right next to the farm.
2017: Organic berries
After a trial phase of several years with strawberries, we enter the marketing of further berries and take a stake in the newly founded BerryFresh AG in Menzengrüt.
2015: Plenty to celebrate
One year, three anniversaries: 40 years in Unterstammheim, 20 years of organic and 10 years of Rathgeb BioLog AG and BioFresh AG. With several open days we show the region how a modern organic farm works.
2015: Farm expansion
Sod-turning at Rohräcker. Over the next two years, new storage and preparation facilities, our own hall for carrots and potatoes, and new office and farm buildings will be built.
2014: New greenhouse in Tägerwilen
The greenhouses of BioFresh AG, some of them over 50 years old, give way to a modern greenhouse covering 1.6 hectares. New is a room for pre-sprouting our potatoes.
2009: Range expansion
Demand for greenhouse vegetables is growing. We expand the area and build a new greenhouse.
2007: Change of management
On 1 January Christian Rathgeb takes over the management of all businesses. There is now a management board and a senior management team.
2005: Expansion
We take over the greenhouses of Biotta AG in Tägerwilen and continue to run them as BioFresh AG. Around fifteen former Biotta growers from the region continue to supply us. For marketing, we found Rathgeb BioLog AG.
1997: The first greenhouses
To serve our customers even better, we build greenhouses for the first time. Shortly afterwards, the hurricane “Lothar” sweeps across the country and puts an end to our plans for the time being.
1994: Organic farming begins
Closeness to nature and growing interest in Swiss organic products tip the balance: we switch to organic farming. At that time, around 30 people work on 80 hectares.
1993: An important step
After gaining experience on various farms, Christian Rathgeb joins the family business. Later he takes over marketing.
1984: Setting the course
Christian Rathgeb, born in 1968, decides to train as a vegetable grower.
1975: Move to Unterstammheim
The family moves to the newly built Rohräcker estate in the Stammertal. With 20 employees, we grow mainly potatoes and vegetables for processing on 80 hectares. There from the start: the shredding cabbage, known in Swiss German as “Suurchabis”.
1971: Change of generation
Erwin Rathgeb, born in 1938, takes over his parents’ arable and vegetable farm in Wangen near Dübendorf (ZH) together with his wife Marianne.
Over 60 vegetable varieties3 generationsBio Suisse since 1994