Germany’s Rügenwalder Mühl, a well-known meat manufacturer which began with the production of animal meat in 1834 and initially dipped its toes into the plant-based category in 2014, is now the German market leader in meat alternatives, and even entered the cultivated space late last year (telling vegconomist way back in 2018 that Clean Meat, as it was termed at the time, was the future).
In 2019, the previously meat-focused company reported that its entrance into plant-based had led to a notable uptick in revenues, and by 2020 it had seen a 50% increase in sales of meat-free products and invested a total of € 5.5 million to expand production capacities for same.
Actively shaping the market
Just a year later, Rügenwalder shared that its revenues were now 50 / 50 for animal protein and vegetable protein products, with a 22% uptick in plant-based sales across the previous year.
By Q2 of 2022, the sales of plant-based had overtaken sales of animal-based products. CEO Michael Hähnel stated at the time, “We are pleased that we are continuing to grow, especially in the area of meat alternatives. Now it’s a matter of further expanding capacities and heading for the next targets.
“As a first mover in the vegetable protein sector in Germany, we have succeeded in continuing to drive the dynamic development of this category […] and actively shaping the market.”
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