Hemp cigarette company Koch & Gsell from Steinach SG is insolvent
Published: Tuesday, Jan 9th 2024, 16:50
Updated At: Wednesday, Jan 10th 2024, 00:59
Back to Live Feed
The hemp cigarette company Koch & Gesell in Steinach, Canton St. Gallen, has filed for bankruptcy. This is the end for the Swiss CBD and tobacco brand "Heimat". The company lacks liquidity and has lost its tobacco license.
Company founder and CEO Roger Koch explained the bankruptcy to the media on Tuesday afternoon, citing falling sales, insufficient liquidity and the unsuccessful search for new investors.
In November 2023, the company was no longer able to provide the guarantee for the tobacco operating license of around 450,000 francs, according to Koch. "That was the final straw for us". This led to a 50 percent drop in turnover.
"Various last-minute rescue attempts failed, which is why the only option was to file for insolvency," said Koch. However, the CEO emphasized that all employees' wages and social benefits had always been paid. The company had twelve employees in 2020.
It remains to be seen what will happen next. A new start that would focus exclusively on the higher-margin hemp business and on products such as hemp iced tea would be conceivable for Managing Director Koch. "We have enormous expertise, knowledge, recipes and a patent that is registered worldwide," he said.
Debt restructuring deferral 2019
Founded in 2015, the cigarette company focused on tobacco of Swiss origin and became famous in 2017 when it launched the world's first legal hemp tobacco cigarette. Industrially produced cigarettes made from pure CBD hemp followed in 2019. The company has patented the processes used for production.
In 2019, the company got into financial difficulties and had to apply for debt restructuring moratorium. Investments in research and development, machinery and national and international expansion had led to massive over-indebtedness. Bankruptcy was averted for the time being in 2020.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic