Julius IV

Personal Life

Julius Meinl IV was born on 27 October 1930 to Julius Meinl III (1903-1991) and Johanna “Hansi” Winterstein (1906-1983). 

Not least because of his marriage to a Jewish woman, Julius Meinl III was a staunch opponent of the National Socialists. He actively supported the resistance against the Nazis. After Austria’s annexation to Germany in March 1938, Julius Meinl III was declared an enemy of the state. He therefore decided to flee Austria together with wife and two sons who had been denoted as “Jüdische Mischlinge” as codified in the Nuremberg racial laws of 1935. The family first spent a year in Yugoslavia before finally emigrating to England in 1939. 

After attending school and studying to become a chartered accountant, Julius Meinl IV joined the British Royal Air Force as a pilot. He returned to Austria after the Second World War in 1953.

Joining the Family Business

Upon his return to Austria, Julius Meinl IV joined the family business, Julius Meinl AG, as a member of the Supervisory Board. Established by his great-grandfather in 1862, Julius Meinl AG was one of the leading food retailing and food producing companies in Austria. Apart from a growing number of up-market grocery stores, the company was most famous for its high-quality coffee. Julius Meinl IV led the coffee department himself and was internationally recognised as a coffee expert. Upon the retirement of his father, Julius Meinl III, his son took over as president of the Supervisory Board of Julius Meinl AG in the year 1987.

Taking Strategic Decisions

In the early 1980s, Meinl’s grocery business was still focussed on Austria only where, together with its competitor Konsum, it dominated the food retail sector. 

As other newer competitors tried to increase their market shares through an aggressive price policy, Meinl reacted by placing great emphasis on differentiating through a higher degree of service and product quality. To ensure this high standard, the Meinl maintained its own production facilities not only for coffee, but also for a wide range of products such as meat, sausages, jam and pasta. The company also had its own distillery and a wine cellar. 

Yet increasingly consumers were not willing to pay a higher a price and flocked to nimbler and more modern retailers. As a result, by the early 1990s Meinl’s market share dropped significantly to only c.6%, roughly half of what it was ten years earlier. In order to keep pace with its main new challengers, Billa and Spar, the company began to compete on price. Despite many discount campaigns, the Meinl was however unable to shake off its expensive image.

Refocusing on Coffee

Following the disposal of its retail business, the family refocused its activities on the Julius Meinl coffee business, which it also retained. 

Julius Meinl IV continued to be the dominant force behind the successful expansion of the coffee business. Since its foundation, the company has always been the leading Austrian coffee brand, synonymous with the Viennese coffee house culture. Following the sale of its grocery stores which had been a captive sales channel for Julius Meinl Coffee, the company now shifted its focus on the out-of-home sector, delivering to thousands of cafés, restaurants, hotels. 

From the start of the 21st century, Julius Meinl expanded to markets outside of Austria. Following a string of acquisitions, Julius Meinl became one of the leading coffee brands in Northern Italy. In parallel, the company organically expanded in its reach throughout central, eastern and south-eastern Europe and also to Russia. In many of these markets, Julius Meinl coffee is one of the top two brands in the out-of-home sector.   

In 2005, Julius Meinl IV was instrumental in moving the company’s main roasting facility from its traditional site in Vienna to a state-of-the-art plant in Vicenza, Italy.