Rapunzel Naturkost was founded by Joseph Wilhelm in Germany in 1974. The mission of Rapunzel Germany is to produce organic raw materials in different countries and purchase certified organically grown raw materials and products for the manufacturing of organic consumer products.

Distribution to wholesalers and 5000 organic shops in Germany and other European countries is part of this implementation. The responsibilities of Rapunzel Germany include the organic certification and quality control from farm level right through until manufacturing of the final products.

Rapunzel Naturkost started to import dried fruits from Turkey already in 1976. Further in the 1980ies Rapunzel opened an office in Izmir for consultancy in organic farming.

In the year 1997 Rapunzel invested in an own organic process facility in Ören / Kemalpaşa, close to Izmir. At Rapunzel Organik Tarım the main organic products (sultanas, apricots, figs and hazelnuts) are processed carefully.
 

Until now Rapunzel is the only major processing company in Turkey, which works with 100% organic products. This ensures that any risk of contamination from non-organic produce is avoided at this important interface between agricultural production and trade.

In Ören, Rapunzel is processing about 3000 tons of organic products per year. For many years Rapunzel has been cooperating with about 450 organic farmers in Turkey. Rapunzel is purchasing directly from these organic farmers without any intermediaries or traders in between.