Industrial production of cakes, cake bases, stollen, waffles and mini pastries for retail, export and B2B customers
KuchenMeister GmbH
Soest (Coesterweg 31, headquarters & production) · Soest (Hammer Landstraße 1-5, branch) · Salzkotten-Thüle · Duingen · Soest (Lange Wende 6, logistics center & production hall)New on Amplifa
The Company
KuchenMeister GmbH is a family-owned company founded in 1884 and based in Soest, Westphalia, that produces baked goods on an industrial scale. The product range includes cakes, cake and torte bases, mini cakes, Christmas stollen, Baumkuchen, waffles, muffins, croissants, brownies and frozen products. The company produces for food retail, food service, vending, healthcare and industrial customers, and also serves as a private-label and co-manufacturing partner; licensed products are made for, among others, Mars, Milky Way, Mövenpick, Nestlé, SMARTIES, Verpoorten and the WDR. Production takes place at the Soest, Salzkotten (Thüle) and Duingen sites with more than 50 production lines; according to the company's own figures, annual capacity is up to 100,000 t of baked goods. Raw material selection includes regional wheat flour, SG-certified palm oil, lupin flour as well as hazelnuts and almonds. KuchenMeister supplies more than 60, or according to other sources more than 80, countries worldwide and employs more than 1,000 people.
- Site
- Soest
- Processes
- Industrial baked goods production (cakes, sheet cakes), Private label / own-brand production, Co-manufacturing, Licensed production (Mars, Milky Way, Mövenpick, Nestlé YES, SMARTIES, Verpoorten, Die Maus/WDR), Export, Food service supply, Vending range, Promotional items and gifts (customized packaging)
- Materials
- Wheat flour, Palm oil (SG-certified), Lupin flour, Hazelnuts and almonds, Soy
- Certificates
- IFS, ISO 50001 (energy management), ZNU Standard Sustainable Business Food, IFS (food safety)
- Founded
- 1884
- Employees
- >1,000
- Industries
- Food retail, Food service / catering, Gastronomy, Vending / vending machines, Industrial customers / B2B, Healthcare (health care)
- 01
Raw material purchasing (regional preferred)
- 02
Recipe and product development
- 03
Dough preparation & baking
- 04
Filling, refining, decoration
- 05
Packaging (over 50 lines)
- 06
Quality control (incl. AI camera system)
- 07
Logistics & export
Raw Materials & Ingredients
Wheat flour
Regional wheat flour from regional mills forms the basis of most baked goods.
Palm oil (SG-certified)
Exclusively segregated-certified palm oil with traceable origin.
Lupin flour
Protein-rich sweet lupin flour for selected products.
Hazelnuts and almonds
Used for fillings and refinements of various products.
Soy
Used in a small number of products.
Locations
Soest
DEHeadquarters & production, Coesterweg 31 (17 ha site)
- Waffle roll production line (automatic, since 1961)
- Brenner ovens
- Combined heat and power unit
- Photovoltaic system
Soest – Lange Wende 6
DELogistics center (10,000 m², 12,400 pallet spaces) & production/office hall 19,000 m² (2021)
- Heat recovery systems
- Combined heat and power unit
- Photovoltaic system
Salzkotten (Thüle)
DEProduction site: cake bases, Christmas stollen, waffles, mini muffins
- Production and packaging lines
- approx. 150 employees
Duingen
DEProduction site: sheet cakes, brownies, frozen products
- Production and packaging lines
- approx. 100 employees
Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial baked goods production (cakes, sheet cakes)Plastics | – | – | – | – | Wheat flour, Eggs, Dairy products, Palm oil |
6 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waffle roll production line (automatic) | – | – | – | 1961 | Soest |
| Production and packaging lines | – | over 50 | – | – | Soest, Thüle/Salzkotten, Duingen |
| Plattenkuchen (sheet cake) production line | – | – | – | 1990 | Soest/Berlin |
| Brenner ovens | – | – | – | – | Soest |
| Photovoltaic system | – | – | – | – | Soest |
| Camera system with AI tool (product and mold inspection) | – | – | – | – | Soest |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality & Certificates
All production sites are IFS-certified; every production stage is monitored, supported by an AI-based camera system for product and mold inspection. Energy management is certified to ISO 50001, and in 2025 the 16th DLG Prize for long-standing product quality was awarded for the first time.
| Evidence | Soest | Salzkotten (Thüle) | Duingen |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFS (food safety) | |||
| ISO 50001 (energy management) | |||
| ZNU Standard Sustainable Business Food |
Company History
- 1884
Founding of the bakery by Julius Trockels on Osthofenstraße in Soest, known for milk ice cakes.
- 1929
Wilhelm Trockels takes over the bakery from his father.
- 1944
Residential house and shop premises destroyed in the Second World War.
- 1954
Günter Trockels, a master baker, sells bread from his bicycle and later supplies up to 80 stores.
- 1956
Rebuilding of the family business on Osthofenstraße.
- 1961
Start of industrial production with an automatic waffle roll line; approx. 50 employees.
- 1971
Construction of a modern production hall on Coesterweg in Soest.
- 1975
Internationalization with exports to Italy, France and the Netherlands.
- 1979
The KuchenMeister brand name is invented.
- 1990
First company in the industry to start producing Plattenkuchen (sheet cakes) in East Germany (Berlin) even before the currency union.
- 1995
Transition to the 4th generation: Hans-Günter (operations), Thomas (finance & controlling), Uwe (purchasing, product development, QA).
- 1997
Market leadership in the nut-nougat croissant segment; production of special cake bars.
- 2000
Acquisition of the production facilities Duingen and Mettingen of Lady Cake feine Kuchen GmbH as well as several operations of Kamps AG.
- 2009
125th company anniversary; licensing partnership with Verpoorten.
- 2012
ZNU certificate "Sustainable Business Food" as one of the first food companies; acquisition of Elzer Backwaren.
- 2014
New logistics center (10,000 m²) on a brownfield site in Soest.
- 2018
Sustainability focus: LNG/CNG, e-fleet and first carbon footprint.
- 2021
Opening of the new production and office hall (19,000 m²) on the logistics center site.
- 2024
Start of the licensing partnership with Mars/Milky Way; merger of Audrey Cake GmbH into KuchenMeister GmbH.
- 2025
Markus Biermann becomes Managing Director (successor to Hans-Günter Trockels); 16th time the DLG Prize for long-standing product quality.