Food and Beverages News | August 2021

Alternative meat and dairy product market grows as organic sector enjoys record year

Germans consumed less meat (57.3 kg) and dairy milk (49 liters) in 2020 than in the previous year according to data released by the German Institute of Economics and Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The market for meat-free and milk alternative products is growing, with the meat-free market growing to EUR 300 million and milk alternatives now accounting for 10 percent of the milk product market. Organic food sales enjoyed record turnover of EUR 15 billion for the first time, with public demand for sustainable and climate-friendly foods driving the change in buying behavior.

Germans demand more regional and sustainable produced foodstuffs

More regional food and less meat is being served up on German plates with German consumers increasingly favoring greater climate protection, sustainability and less waste according to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The BMEL study finds that German shoppers are buying more consciously and supporting regional producers in order to contribute to climate protection. Eighty-two percent of study respondents said that regional origin played an important part of their food buying behavior, with 86 percent also stating that the regionality of produce was of particular importance when it comes to fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs. Twenty-six percent of all study participants eat meat and products daily – a drop of five percent compared to 2015 figures. Vegetarians and vegans now account for 10 percent and two percent of the population respectively according to the study.

Czech investor buys Bringmeister from Edeka

Czech venture capital group Rockaway Capital has acquired delivery service Bringmeister from Edeka. The group has high hopes for the purchase, believing that it can grow the delivery service’s current annual turnover of EUR 100 million to EUR 1 billion in three to five years by rolling the service out across more German cities. Having been in existence for 24 years, Bringmeister is the country’s oldest supermarket delivery service, but Edeka has halted its expansion activities in recent times, limiting operations to Berlin, Munich and Potsdam. Rockaway Capital has expressed its intention to make significant investment in growth in a hotly contested market.

More players entering German delivery market

Turkish start-up Getir is set to enter the German delivery market according to media reports. The Istanbul-based company, which  offers a 10-minute delivery service, has reportedly purchased a German shelf company in order to begin operations in Germany’s competitive delivery market. A Getir spokesman has said that the company seeks to be active in 10 different cities within the next two years, beginning first in Berlin. In other news, Dutch online supermarket Picnic, has announced plans to expand its German operations, adding its largest center to date in Langenfeld (North Rhine-Westphalia) to its two existing goods centers. In other news, Uber is set to enter the food delivery service in Germany with the launch of its Uber Eats service in Berlin. Food delivery services have benefited significantly from Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, whereas uptake of car-ride services recorded a downturn. Uber says that it has already brought a number of local restaurants onboard as part of its moves to offset the downturn in ride service levels with meal delivery provision.

Rostock start-up’s plans to produce meat in the lab

Rostock-based start-up Innocent Meat is helping drive the transformation from traditional livestock farming to a sustainable and efficient model through the production of cell culture-based meat. The young company is seeking to break the dependence on conventional agricultural methods to produce “clean meat” through the provision of an end-to-end clean meat production system. The company's aim is to develop easy-to-install production systems that allow established meat producers to adapt their own supply chain in order to produce cell culture-based meat. The ready-made solution includes culture media, cell lines and the scaffold on which the cells grow, as well as the necessary equipment including bioreactors and filtration systems.

Start-ups producing animal-free cheese and fish products

Two Berlin start-ups are leading the way in the production of cell-based cheese and fish products. Formo produces nature-identical cheese using microorganisms to produce real milk protein. The resulting emulsion matures in in a fermenter before being further processed with fats and carbohydrates to produce Mozzarella and Ricotta cheeses. The company expects the first animal-free cheeses to launch in 2023. Bluu Biosciences is the first company in Europe to specialize in developing cell-based fish, with fish fillets grown from non-genetically modified, immortalized cell lines in bioreactors. Both companies are seeking to benefit from an alternative proteins market that is growing fast, with demand expected to rise to 97 million tons by 2035 according to the BCG consultancy.

Companies in fight against food waste

Motatos, an online food startup founded in Sweden in 2014, is helping in the fight against food waste. The company saves food from overproduction from disposal by reselling it online at discounted prices. Products that cannot be otherwise sold in supermarkets because of packaging and production errors is bought by the company and sold online at heavily discounted prices. Motatos joins a raft of companies including SirPlus and TooGoodToGo that are part of a significant trend to “rescue” food that would otherwise be disposed in order to effectively combat food waste. TooGoodToGo makes use of an app that informs consumers of available unsold produce in supermarkets in their immediate vicinity. SirPlus reintroduces surplus foodstuffs back into the market cycle by offering it for sales at its rescue markets and online shop.

Arabic food product company launches online presence

Nosor Baladna, one of the largest manufacturers and retailers of Arabic food products, has taken its business online in order to meet growing demand from more than 32 country markets. The company, located in Grevenbroich in North Rhine-Westphalia, is well placed to meet demand thanks to its excellent location and proximity to Neuss and Düsseldorf Airport.