Since the launch of its first five products in September 2022, the young corporate startup The Plantly Butchers (TPB) has exceeded expectations with its first brand Billie Green, having already surpassed the 10 million mark, making it one of the most successful food newcomers in Germany in recent years.
With a strong repurchase rate of 58 percent (2nd place, GfK as of June 2023), the market leadership with Billie Green vegan ham cubes and a turnover of 10 million euros in its first year, The Plantly Butchers (TPB) has quickly become the 5th most successful producer of vegetarian and vegan vegetarian and vegan meat alternatives in Germany (as of July 2023).
“The initial situation for market entry was anything but ideal: global crises and inflation have also global crises and inflation have also affected the market for meat alternatives,” says Sven Wieken, Managing Director of The Plantly Butchers.
“We are all the more proud that we have not only been able to hold our own in the market, but that we are very successful in almost all areas and have already and have already won a large number of consumers as loyal Billie Green fans.”
Focus on research and development
What makes Billie Green so successful? “First and foremost, the delicious taste of our products and the high likeability of the brand. Both are thanks to our highly motivated team, which is on fire for Billie Green and moves forward full of passion about Billie Green,” Wieken comments.
The Plantly Butchers places particular emphasis on innovation and the focus on its own research and development department. Of the current 39 employees, 12 are developers who work on the constant improvement and development of new product innovations. product innovations. In addition, there is the expertise of Novel Vegan Crafts, which developed the patented manufacturing process of the Billie Green products based on fermentation processes and continues to support the company in its research.
In June this year, Wieken and his team expanded the Billie Green range from five to seven products. range from five to seven products: a chilli variation of the best-selling vegan bacon and a vegan salami “Baguette-Style”, which is already in its third month in the market, accounting for 17 percent of sales.
“With our vegan salami Baguette we have taken the category to a new level in terms of consistency and taste, which has level in terms of consistency and taste, which is unparalleled,” says Georg Achterkamp, who joined the team in September as the second managing director alongside Sven Wieken.
Achterkamp’s focus is on research and the development of new products. “In November, we will be launching further new products, which are which are also real innovations,” says Achterkamp.
Expansion to the European market
Billie Green is not only on course for success in the German market: since May 2023 the products have also been available in Austria, where they are broadly listed at Billa and Spar.
“After we were able to establish ourselves market of Germany, we want to take the next step and exploit the potential in another next step, we also want to exploit the potential in other European countries. Our next step is to expand to the UK, which has a strong demand in the new food market,” announces Wieken.
