FAQ

The herbs used in Ricola products are cultivated using natural methods. However, in order to meet the strict Bio Suisse guidelines, a farm must use organic methods in all areas (cereals, fruit production, animal husbandry, etc.). Not all of our farmers are able to make this considerable effort, mainly for financial reasons. More than two-thirds of Ricola's herb farmers already meet the Bio Suisse requirements.

Information for vegetarians:

Ricola herbal specialties are suitable for vegetarians. However, some of our products do contain ingredients that are not permitted in all types of vegetarian diets. The list of ingredients on the packaging contains full details of all substances.

Information for vegans:

The Ricola range includes many boild drops and teas that can be consumed by vegans. However, some drops contain honey, and are therefore not suitable for vegans. In the interest of transparency, Ricola lists all ingredients on all product packaging.

All our products are based on the well established and tested Ricola 13 herbs mixture, and do contain essential oils as natural flavorings. We recommend that you discuss this topic with your homeopathist or your pharmacist.

The white layer on the herbal drop is crystallized isomalt/crystallized sugar. This problem may occur with improper storage, such as high atmospheric humidity. The white layer is harmless to health.

As Ricola is primarily a production facility, we adhere to strict hygiene regulations in accordance with Swissmedic. Allowing tours of the facility would require us to implement the necessary precautionary measures and make spatial adjustments. For this reason, factory tours are exclusively available to Ricola’s business partners, and only on a highly restricted basis.

However, you can visit our experience shop and Herb Center in Laufen, our various herb gardens across Switzerland. A list of our herb gardens can be found here.

In principle, Ricola products are safe to use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. For your own safety, however, we recommend that you consult your doctor in advance to rule out any allergies or intolerances to certain ingredients in our products. All the ingredients are listed on the packaging.

The cube-shaped Ricola Original Herb bonbons are our traditional product. Their shape and recipe have hardly changed since 1940. The cube shape is characteristic of this product and is very popular with many consumers who like its straight edges. However, we understand that some consumers prefer an oval-shaped bonbon. That's why the sugar-free version of our original product and many other products are available in an oval shape.

The name Ricola is derived from the name of the owner family, Richterich, and the name of the town in Switzerland where Ricola products were invented and are still produced today -  Laufen. So take the first two letters of RIchterich COmpany LAufen - and you have RICOLA!

We have never tested our products on animals and our products are not intended for animal consumption. If you have a pet that has ingested our cough drops, please contact your veterinarian. Ricola products do not contain xylitol, a sweetener that has been linked to health problems in pets.

Please visit the Products page of our website, then select the flavor you are interested in and you will find nutritional information on that page.

All Ricola products are considered gluten-free according to the Codex international food standards and are therefore suitable for people with gluten intolerance.In some countries, however, we are required by law to label ingredients as allergens if they have a gluten-containing origin, even if they no longer contain the allergen. You can be assured that none of our products contain gluten.

All Ricola products are considered lactose-free according to the Swiss Foodstuff Ordinance and are suitable for people with lactose intolerance.

All Ricola herbal specialties produced in Laufen are kosher and halal.

Ricola products may contain traces of alcohol (ethanol) due to their ingredients. This is similar to fruits and other foods containing sugar or starch, which may produce small amounts of alcohol when consumed and digested.

The alcohol content in Ricola products is less than 0.5% and therefore the products are considered “alcohol-free”.

Aspartame is used as a sweetener in some of our products because of its round flavor and because it does not damage teeth.

Ricola closely follows the discussion on artificial sweeteners and complies with the legal requirements of legislators and the recommendations of public international and national expert groups.Of course, we also aim to develop and use natural, calorie-reducing sweeteners that are good for the teeth. In the UK, for example, we sweeten several varieties of our sugar-free herbal products with steviol glycosides (stevia).

Ricola offers products with and without sugar. As an alternative, we also recommend our herbal sweets with sugar, such as our Ricola Original Herb bonbons.

In all markets where Ricola products are marketed, Ricola products comply with all requirements regarding GMOs, if such requirements exist in the respective country. Based on these requirements Ricola products are considered GMO-free.

The term “polyols”, which we use in the nutrition values table in compliance with the declaration requirements for food products, refers to the sugar substitutes.

In our sugar-free products, we use isomalt as a sugar substitute. Isomalt (or sorbitol and sorbitol syrup) belongs to a group of substances known as "polyols/polyalcohols " (sugar alcohols), and we are required by law to label them as "polyalcohols". Polyalcohols have no "alcohol-like" effects. Because isomalt has mild sweetening properties, it must be declared as a sweetener. However, most of the sweet taste in the drops comes from the sweeteners (aspartame / sucralose / acesulfame-K) or the steviol glycosides from the stevia plant. Isomalt isn't actually that sweet, and must be used in combination with another sweetener (e.g. stevia) to give the product the sweet taste that consumers enjoy.

Each Ricola flavor has a different menthol level. This refers to a different taste experience due to different menthol levels. To see the amount of menthol in each drop, visit our Products page.

All Ricola products are free of nuts and peanuts.

Ricola is not classified as organic, but we do use high quality ingredients in our products. For a complete list of ingredients and nutritional information for our drops, please visit our products page.

Most Ricola drops are sugar-free, so we can offer consumers lower calorie products that are tooth-friendly. To ensure the drops still have a sweet flavor, they contain sweeteners.We initially used aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame-K in our products. However where ever possible we have replaced these sweeteners with steviol glycosides, which are extracted from stevia plants.

The caramel color in some of our products is manufactured from sucrose (beet sugar), under very specific conditions. We can confirm that the caramel color does not contain 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI). Only the colors Ammonia Caramel (E 150c) and Sulphite Ammonia Caramel (E 150d) contain 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) and we do not use these two colors in our Ricola products.

Our products are only available through our retailers and since 2023 also in our shop in Laufen, Switzerland.