Hamburg Tradition
third generation
From a two-person delicatessen shop
to a major organic importer
Experience and Passion
Since 1960 Bode Naturkost stands as a reliable partner in the organic raw materials trade. Horst and Gisela Bode founded the company on historic Deichstrasse in Hamburg, and to this day it is steadily grown.
Over the decades, the company developed from a small family business with a focus on high-quality spices and delicacies into a modern, high-performance organic raw materials importer with extensive logistics capacity and a clear quality vision.
Now we are writing a new chapter: At 2025 enters the third generation into responsibility.
The twins Benjamin and Daniel Bode, the children of Gabriele Bode, take on key leadership roles – Benjamin as second Managing Director alongside Frank Bode, and Daniel with a focus on processes in the warehouse and production. The family team is complemented by Sophie Siefert, Frank Bode’s daughter, who contributes her expertise in quality assurance. With this step, we ensure continuity, bring fresh momentum to our core business, and unlock new potential.
What drives us is more than tradition: it is the conviction that a true family business like Bode Naturkost will be there for its partners tomorrow as well, with passion and foresight.
Our Owner Family Bode
Frank Bode
Managing Directors & Owners: “Since 1960, we have enjoyed spreading tasty food produced in as natural a way as possible and organically grown.”
Gabriele Bode
Advisory Board Member: “We trust in the abilities and excellent expertise of our dedicated employees – a great team.”
Benjamin Bode
Managing Director: “Through close dialogue with suppliers and customers, as well as securing reliable volumes and high quality, I want to keep moving our company forward in the organic market. Customer satisfaction always comes first.”
Daniel Bode
Logistics & Production: “Together, we are making a clear statement: Bode Naturkost remains a vibrant family business that combines tradition with visionary implementation. For you, our partners, today and in the future.”
Sophie Siefert
Quality Assurance: “For me, quality means products you can rely on blindly. I do everything I can to ensure that this remains our hallmark in the future. The tradition of the family business continues to be my focus as well!”
Our Story
Founding
Horst Bode founded the family business in the famous Deichstraße in Hamburg, today a lane that looks like a museum; the goods are traditionally lifted up to the floors of the brick-and-timber houses with a hoist. The founders trade in conventional delicatessen and spices. These come from Germany and Europe and from the spice exchange.
Switch to organic
Relocation to Wentorf near Hamburg. The topic of organic food is still in its infancy, but the organic idea is flourishing within the family, so both private life and business are converted. Customers include health food stores and any kind of “health shop and health processor.” Until 1985, only Horst and Gisela Bode, together with a few temporary workers, were active in the business. After that, they additionally hire one full-time office employee.
Move to Hamburg
The company moves to the Hamburg district of Lohbrügge. In the east of Hamburg, on the city’s green belt, the business has an ideal location close to the Port of Hamburg.
Bode grows
Their son, Frank Bode, now leads the successful organic trading company in the second generation. When the now 55-year-old takes over the small business in 1993 at its current location at the age of 23, with three employees, a warehouse of 300 square meters without pallet racking is still enough. With a car and trailer, and later a small van, he delivers the ordered goods to customers in the surrounding area.
Investment in the Warehouse
For the first time, the warehouse is expanded by a modest 180 square meters compared with today’s storage capacity.
The construction costs of 150,000 Deutsche Marks were a considerable but necessary investment in order to follow the service philosophy that still applies today: shipping as many orders as possible on the day they are received.
Second Warehouse Hall
A second warehouse is added. As sales increase, storage requirements rise as well.
First Packaging Line
The first packaging line is put into operation, for both BODE NATURKOST branded bags and the private-label business. A dedicated organic store opens on the factory premises. A few years later, it has to make way for new offices, as more employees are hired due to growing sales and responsibilities.
First Online Shop
Customers can place orders through the first online shop. New focuses are raw food ingredients, and a Fair Trade line is also added.
Experience Our Current Shop
In our modern online shop, business and private customers can shop conveniently 24/7.
Choose from over 1,500 organic products!
Expansion of Capacity
Storage facilities have to be rented or bought in the surrounding area because the capacity in Lohbrügge is not enough. More warehouse buildings follow, and refrigerated and deep-freeze storage facilities are added as well.
New Production and Administration
New production spaces and a more modern, automated packaging line are now complete. The employees move into a new office building, as the company’s success has also led to more staff. Around 80 employees now work at the growing company headquarters. The management team is supplemented by two authorized signatories. This leaves the company well positioned for steady growth.
12.5 million investment
The largest warehouse, No. 12, is completed. It meets the most modern logistics requirements. The hall is 65 m long, 35 m wide, and 16 m high, with a volume of 36,400 cubic meters. This adds capacity for 7,000 pallet spaces. Frank Bode: “At €12.5 million, this is the largest investment since the family business was founded. Our customers benefit from the expanded storage capacity, as even more products are available for immediate shipment.”
Bode grows
With 400 containers per year plus a large number of truck deliveries, Bode Naturkost is one of Germany’s largest organic importers. Further professionalization across all accompanying stages of trade and the higher import volume lead to ingredients that are increasingly safer, more reliable, fresher, and even more affordable. By now, Bode ships more than 12,000 pallets to customers each year, and the number is still rising.
External crises
Even in this difficult year, the company remains on course and now employs more than 100 people.
Second Warehouse Hall
New challenges such as the war in Ukraine, inflation, and raw material shortages also shape day-to-day business at Bode Naturkost. Climate change is omnipresent. Bode tests a plastic-free package, a film that is 100% garden-compostable. Due to rapidly rising prices, the film was replaced again. Instead, from 2024 onward the company is focusing on larger 1 kg consumer packs and replacing plastic with paper wherever possible.
The third generation
The third generation of the Bode family joins the company: twins Benjamin and Daniel Bode, sons of Gabriele Bode, take on leading roles. Benjamin Bode becomes the second managing director, and Daniel Bode focuses on the processes in the warehouse and production. Frank Bode’s daughter Sophie Siefert contributes her expertise in the quality assurance department. This positions the company for the future, focuses it on its core business, opens up new paths, and unlocks potential.
