At the start was… the harmony of Yin and Yang!
At the origin of Lima there were two men who met and inspired each other: Pierre Gevaert, Lima’s Belgian founder, and Georges Ohsawa; the Japanese founder of Macrobiotics. Georges believed in the philosophy of Yin and Yang which is based on one main principle: the harmony between opposing yet complementary elements. He wanted to apply this principle to everything and especially to nutrition.
Inspired by Georges’ ideas, Pierre decided in 1957 to create a brand of natural, plant-based products. And Lima was born, named after Georges’ wife. Soon after, the first Lima products were launched. Delicious, healthy, and inspired by Japan, our Yannoh, our Tamari, our Tahin or our grain cakes quickly became iconic. They were followed by many others. Like the first rice drink in Europe in 1991 called Rev’Riz, “Dream Rice” in French. The dream keeps going: the Harmony of Yin and Yang is still at the heart of Lima.
Discover our history
Some key events..
1957
Creation of Lima by Pierre Gevaert.
1958 - 1961
Launches of our first Japanese iconic products:
• Miso, Tamari, Tahin, Yannoh, Gomasio
• Rice cakes
• Soya drink
1963
Launch of our original Muesli.
1974
The Lima Expert Lab sets out quality specifications which are the basis for the first EU organic regulation.
1991
Launch of the first rice drink in Europe. A revolution for lactose intolerant people.
2007
Launch of our Tamari less salt, the first salt-reduced Tamari.
2009
We moved into a new building with a carbon neutral footprint.
2011
The packaging of our rice and our tea are now home compostable.
2019
Our packaging changed and adopt the colors of the Land of Lima.
2020
Our Yannoh filter 500g, 1kg and our Cicorei 500g and 250g are now in a eco-friendly packaging.
… And we keep innovating. To make our dream of harmony always more real.
