German food conglomerate Pfeifer & Langen has taken a majority stake in local sausage and plant-based meat business Rügenwalder Mühle.
Pfeifer & Langen, best known as a sugar manufacturer, and Rügenwalder Mühle both have plant-based meat alternative products in their portfolio and it is the desire to expand in this area that has brought the businesses together.
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The financial details of the deal, instigated by Rügenwalder Mühle, have not been disclosed nor has the size of the stake Cologne-based Pfeifer & Langen has acquired.
The deal is subject to the approval of the German competition authority.
Family business Rügenwalder Mühle, based in Bad Zwischenahn in Lower Saxony, is a traditional sausage maker which has evolved in recent years to make alt-meat products. It now offers 25 meat and sausage products and around 30 vegetarian and vegan alternatives.
Christian Rauffus, deputy chairman of the company’s supervisory board, said: “In less than ten years we have brought vegetarian and vegan meat alternatives out of the niche and into the centre of society. By participating [in this deal], we want to take advantage of the opportunity to further develop the portfolio, especially beyond the German market.”
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By GlobalDataUwe Schöneberg, managing partner of Pfeifer & Langen, said: “By joining forces, our mutual strengths can be leveraged, for example procurement of raw materials [or] in the production of innovative products.
“Our consistent thinking and actions [will] allow the still young category to further develop plant-based meat alternatives.”
Pfeifer & Langen, which generated sales of €1.33bn ($1.45bn) in 2022, is active in a number of food categories and owns KP Nuts and Pom-Bear brands owner Intersnack Group
Another subsidiary is Endori, a manufacturer of plant-based meat alternatives, and the company also has a stake in UK vegan business VBites.
Research published this month revealed that more than half of Europeans are reducing their meat consumption.
