The company Eco Biscuits is located at an industrial estate in the hamlet of Heultje, which can be found by heading in the direction of Westerlo in the Antwerp Kempen.

N.V. Eco Biscuits has evolved from a small, one-man company, focused on the whole-sale distribution of natural products for health food shops in Belgium. Founded by Mr. Hein van Roekel, a trained “baker”, the company was already active in the’80s.

In November 1993 it was converted into a public limited company, with the following shareholders:

• Hein van Roekel
• Annemiek van Roekel
• Frans van Roekel
• Steven Bogaerts

The company’s operations still involved a wide range of products, including biscuits, spices and maintenance products. Its primary customers were health food shops in Belgium and, sporadically, several foreign importers.

Early 1997 Frans Bogaerts joined the company as “managing director”. As founder of Ecover, a supplier of ecologically justified maintenance products, Frans Bogaerts had gained an extensive experience and knowledge in the health food industry. The following decisions were made:

• The comprehensive range of spices and maintenance products was divested; from that moment onwards, the company would be exclusively involved in the baking of biscuits.
• An investment plan was drawn up, consisting of various phases.
• A number of foreign contacts were made.
• Mr. Hein Van Roekel left the company to become a wholesaler of Eco Biscuits products on the Belgian health food market.

In 2008 investments were made in Eco Biscuits. The buildings were expanded and a tunnel oven was purchased, tripling the production capacity. The packaging line was expanded, allowing new products to be packaged of course.

The distribution involves wholesalers in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, England and France.