German meat market survives the veggie upswing
Despite the growing number of meat alternatives filling supermarket shelves, representatives of Germany's butchers told dpa Thursday that the meat market is holding up well.
Meat consumption in Germany has remained constant for the past three years at around 30 kilograms per person, according to an annual report of the Federation of the German Meat Product Industry (BVDF).
And a survey by the Confederation of the German Food Industry (BVE) found that the overwhelming majority of Germans, 92 per cent, had not eaten meat alternatives at all in 2014, or had done so less than once a month. Some 11 million Germans spent on average of around 19 euros (21.4 dollars) across the whole year on meat substitutes, making a total of 213 million euros, compared to a total meat market worth around 18 billion euros.
Some meat producers have decided to take advantage of the trend, such as sausage makers Ruegenwalder Muehle, which now offers a range of meat-free sausages.
"We originally set ourselves the target of achieving one-third of our sales through meat-free articles by 2020," says Ruegenwalder Muehle's development and marketing manager, Godo Roeben. "If it continues to go as well as it has until now, we will reach this target much sooner.
Roeben said vegetarian products would account for 30 per cent of sales by as early as this autumn.
The head of the BVDF remains sceptical: Market share for vegetarian products is still very small despite its omnipresence in the media, says Thomas Vogelsang. "The purchasing reality is very different," he says. (dpa)
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