Carl Heinrich Knorr was born near Brunswick and came to Heilbronn in 1838 where he set up a chicory coffee factory producing several varieties of substitute coffee made of chicory, almonds and acorns. They came in different packagings and were sold at various price levels.
In 1856 Knorr had to sell his factory, most likely because he suffered from a severe illness. After a short and unsuccessful spell in the cloth manufacturing industry, he founded a trading company for local produce in the 1860s.
Influenced by his sons Carl and Alfred, he started to produce powdered soups made of peas and beans. Packaged in small quantities they were sold under the “Bienenkorb” (Bee Hive) trade mark. This was the starting point for what would become the Knorr global brand.