. this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . june 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message ricola type aktiengesellschaft ag founded 1930 founder emil wilhelm richterich headquarters laufen switzerland key people felix richterich president & ceo products cough drops breath mints revenue 297.3 million chf swiss francs 2012 number of employees 400 2012 website ricola.com ricola ltd. ricola ag is a manufacturer of cough drops and breath mints in switzerland . all their products include natural herbal ingredients exclusively cultivated on swiss soil without any use of pesticides insecticides or herbicides . 1 2 the head office of ricola is located in laufen basel country . 3 contents 1 business 2 history 3 herbs 4 ricola herb gardens 5 awards 6 references 7 external links business edit ricola listed sales of 297.3 million chf swiss francs in 2012 and employs 400 workers . around 200 independent produce companies in the surrounding area service ricola . in order to obtain enough herbs for the production of its herbal drops the firm contracts over 100 self managed farms in the valais emmental val poschiavo and at the southern foot of the jura mountains in central switzerland and in ticino . ricola is known for its commercials featuring heidi ramona pringle depicting mountaineers shouting ri co la and blowing through a large alphorn . history edit ricola began in 1930 when emil wilhelm richterich established confiseriefabrik richterich & co. laufen after the purchase of a small bakery in laufen just outside basel . under richterich the bakery specialized in confectionery such as f nfermocken a sweet which was similar to caramel . in 1940 richterich created ricola s swiss herbal sweet incorporating a blend of 13 herbs . in the 1950s the sweet became appreciated for its ability to be dissolved in boiling water creating an aromatic herbal tea or tisane which inspired richterich to create a ricola herbal tea a few years later . 4 in 1967 emil richterich and his sons hans peter and alfred renamed the company ricola an abbreviation of richterich & compagnie laufen . export began in the 1970s introducing ricola s products to foreign markets . at the end of the decade ricola moved to a new purpose built factory in the vicinity of laufen where its headquarters are still located . 4 in 1976 after extensive research on sugar free confectionery ricola launched switzerland s first chewable sugarless herbal sweet . ricola first started to advertise its products on television in the 1980s an era that saw increased awareness of the need for good dental hygiene increasing the demand for sugar free products such as the ones that ricola offered . in 1988 the company started packaging their products in small boxes . 4 the company is now managed by felix richterich son of hans peter and grandson of the founder . today ricola exports to over 50 countries in asia north america and europe . 5 herbs edit while the active ingredient in most ricola products is menthol an important part of ricola products is the herb mixture . the following herbs are noted as being part of ricola s classic blend of 13 herbs 6 elder sambucus nigra horehound marrubium vulgare mallow malva silvestris peppermint mentha piperita sage salvia officinalis thyme thymus vulgaris cowslip primula veris burnet pimpinella saxifraga yarrow achillea millefolium marsh mallow althaea officinalis lady s mantle alchemilla vulgaris speedwell aka veronica veronica officinalis plantain plantago lanceolata in the united states ten herbs make up the herbal mixture three of which are not in the above list . these are linden flowers tilia platyphyllos wild thyme thymus serpyllum and hyssop hyssopus officinalis . 7 ricola herb gardens edit ricola has six show gardens in switzerland . visitors to the herb gardens can learn about the original herbal blend in their natural environment and learn all about the cultivation and power of herbs . the gardens can be visited as tourist attractions and are located at the following locations 8 nenzlingen near the company headquarters trogberg a mountain in the canton of solothurn klewenalp above beckenried kandersteg in the berner oberland zermatt in the valais pontresina in the southern part of graub nden the herbs used to produce ricola s cough drops are not cultivated in these gardens but in natural plantations in the swiss mountains in accordance with strict organic or biosuisse guidelines . ricola ensures that its cultivation areas are not situated near industrial sites or the road networks to avoid contact with harmful pollutants . over 100 self managed farms are under contract to ricola in the valais emmental puschlav and the jura mountains in central switzerland and ticino . no pesticides insecticides or herbicides are used in herb cultivation . 2 awards edit the company has won several awards 9 most trusted brand in 2008 2010 and 2011 by the readers of reader s digest swissaward 2010 felix richterich vr president was awarded a distinction for the business category power brand 2010 among the top 20 swiss brands the brand asset valuator by young & rubicam public prize of the swiss packaging institute award 2008 best taste award 2008 awarded by the international taste and quality institute itqi in brussels belgium the effie prize gold medal in germany 2000 for the ricola campaign finland australia references edit products . ricola ag . retrieved 2015 12 02 . a b ricola herb farmers would rather inspect every single leaf individually than use chemical substances to combat insects or other pests . . ricola ag . retrieved 2015 12 02 . contact . ricola ag . retrieved 2015 12 02 . a b c history . ricola ag . retrieved 2015 12 02 . the company . ricola ag . retrieved 2015 12 02 . the magic 13 herbs . ricola ag . retrieved 2015 12 02 . ricola original ingredients . ricola . retrieved 2015 12 06 . ricola herb gardens . ricola ag . retrieved 2015 12 02 . ricola is among the top 20 swiss brands . ricola ag . retrieved 2015 12 02 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to ricola . ricola website ricola usa website switzerland portal companies portal retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title ricola & oldid 711074015 categories throat lozengescompanies established in 1930companies of switzerlandbreath mintsswiss confectioneryswiss brandshidden categories articles lacking reliable references from june 2010all articles lacking reliable referencescommons category with local link same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload 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