Aargau tofu pioneer Engel marks 45 years with hand production

Engel Tofu, the first tofu producer in German-speaking Switzerland, is marking its 45th anniversary while continuing to make most of its products by hand, SRF reported. The company is based in Widen in the canton of Aargau.

When the company was founded in the early 1980s, tofu and other soy products were barely available in Switzerland. “Tofu was still largely unknown,” said Paul Rippstein, one of Engel Tofu’s founding members. The founders had encountered tofu in Lucerne, Zug and Zurich before deciding to produce it in Switzerland.

Production began as more of a hobby than a profitable business. The company initially made three to four kilograms of tofu a week and supplied several restaurants. Production started in Zurich and moved through several locations before settling in Widen in 2017.

Today, Engel Tofu produces 250 kilograms a day. Soybeans are soaked in tanks, ground and pumped into large cooking pots, where the mixture is heated to about 80 degrees Celsius. Nigari, a component of sea salt, is then added to make the mixture set before the tofu is pressed.

Although machines could take over several stages and reduce production costs, the company has chosen to retain hand production. Managing director René Huber said this gave the team greater control over its products and helped it achieve a quality close to traditional Japanese cotton tofu.

Tofu has benefited from the protein trend of recent years. A 2025 study by Switzerland’s Federal Office for Agriculture found strong growth in tofu consumption, while demand for meat substitutes was declining. SRF business editor Matthias Heim attributed the decline partly to the high price and extensive industrial processing of many meat substitute products.

Engel Tofu has also retained the ideals of its founding period. Employees earn the same amount, and the company seeks unanimous decisions rather than relying on votes. The source of its soybeans remains a recurring subject of discussion. The company currently buys them in northern Italy, saying Swiss alternatives do not provide everything from a single source and would require additional truck journeys.