Hardly anyone knows the plant-based industry in Germany as well as Godo Röben. With his impressive experience – from his work as a member of the supervisory board at Bauer to his advisory and advisory board mandates at REWE, LIDL, IFF/Billie Green, Vutter Tiernahrung, Evo4Foods, Project Eaden and Follow Food to his role as a board member at BALPro—he is playing a key role in shaping the future of plant-based foods. As the former managing director of Rügenwalder Mühle, he put the brand on the road to success in the veggie segment, for which SPIEGEL named him the ‘King of Veggie Sausages’ in 2023.
In this interview, Röben reveals his personal highlights of the past year, which political decisions are now urgently needed and which success factors can advance the plant-based industry in Germany.
How do you see the market for alternative proteins at the turn of the year 2024-2025?
Overall, positive, even if the mood is worse than the situation. The market has been growing in many areas for 10 years and will continue to do so in 2025. In the meat and sausage sector and in the milk segment, it even grew by almost double digits last year. In any other industry, these figures would make champagne corks pop. Just think of the beer industry, the spirits industry or meat and sausage manufacturers.
But that’s how we Germans are. New markets, such as e-mobility, renewable energies and alternative proteins, are growing year after year, creating jobs and securing the future of Germany as a location for innovation—if we step on the gas there—but they are constantly accompanied by criticism and fear of innovation.
What do you mean?
It’s normal that not everything works out right away in new markets, that the products do not all taste perfect right away, that there are not immediately short ingredient lists, that we do not immediately use only regional raw materials, that the products are not immediately cheaper than their animal counterparts, etc. But this is something that is often demanded, ignoring the fact that when you do something new, you are never immediately perfect.
It’s similar to a child learning to swim. They won’t be able to swim 100 meters, jump from a three-meter board and dive 2 meters deep on the first day. And just as we helped our children learn to swim – celebrating small successes, taking them one step at a time, motivating them when they lose – we have to help them with new industries. Because, like our children, new industries and new markets are our future.
Why then do politicians and society view these changes so critically?
Most people don’t like change, but in the last 10 years, the world has changed faster than ever before. And you don’t have to be a great fortune teller to say that the world will probably never change as slowly as it has in the last 10 years.
This means that we all have to get used to it and embrace progress with open arms, even if it changes successful companies and industries significantly and sometimes even sweeps them away. That is part of renewal.
There are two alternatives for Germany as an agricultural location. Either we just defend the old, demand subsidies for it and build up a defensive attitude by fighting the innovations, similar to what the German automotive industry did, or we learn from the example and drive the change in the agricultural industry ourselves.
What would politicians have to do to promote these changes in the agricultural sector?
New markets need political support at the beginning. How did Silicon Valley come about? How did China become the market leader in the solar industry? How are the USA and China taking market leadership in the automotive industry from us? With strong initial support for the new markets. This includes money, research and development and, above all, positive, visionary support, including from politicians. What doesn’t help us move forward are bratwurst selfies ;).
Let’s get down to business. What were your AP highlights of the last year?
There are a few. I was impressed by the steak from planted , the spare ribs from Juicy Marbles blew me away and the cream cheese varieties from Formo and Bresso are also fantastic. The same goes for the new “Not-Milk” products.
I have already had the opportunity to taste some products from various companies that are coming onto the German market this year, and I can say that we will also see really good products in the area of “piece goods” (cooked ham, cured ham, steaks, medallions, etc.).
And – things are slowly starting to take off in the dog food sector. In addition to start-ups like Veg-Dog, traditional dog food providers like Landguth (Vutter) are now entering the market. Of course, dog owners are hard to crack, but the latest studies showing that vegan dog food is healthier than animal-based dog food, or healthier than BARF (Editor’s note: so-called BARF diet, in which raw meat, bones, offal, vegetables and fruit are fed) will give the market a boost.
What else is moving the market?
The sliced cheese sector is still a little disappointing, as no products have yet been developed that can compete with animal cheese. But customers notice this and tend to leave the variants alone. This is why the quantity in the sliced cheese market has also declined. Consumers have already become accustomed to relatively good alternatives in the AP market. This is why new products and brands have to deliver something special. But then they have a good chance and can shake things up a bit in the market.
A good example is Billie Green. Within 2 years, the team has generated over €20 million in sales, has risen to third place in the sales rankings and is therefore one of the most successful food start-ups in Germany in recent years. This is also a great example of how an old economy company (InFamily Foods) can create value in a new segment.
Example calculation: In this area, successful companies are valued at 3 to 5 times their turnover and thus 60-100 million euros in value have been created within 24 months.
There are also examples of failures in this segment. What are the secret ingredients for success so that you can still successfully start or grow in this market today?
Selling food is not rocket science, so these are things that everyone knows. It’s about products, brands and people:
The products that you bring to market should taste good, have short ingredient lists, use regional raw materials and be priced similarly to their animal counterparts. They should also be aimed at the mass market. A vegan foie gras is nice – but it won’t generate revenue.
The brand should be independent and recognizable, but not pander too much to the Berlin-Mitte shoppers because the point is that we reach the masses. We will neither advance the market nor the brand if we only target the young, urban, well-educated target groups.
And the people. In my opinion, the most important point. Find people who have experience in the field, people who have already made mistakes that not every company has to repeat. And make sure that you have an “old hand” on board in every key area. A networked key account manager, an innovation and marketing manager with experience in the AP market. Someone to lead the field team and, ideally, an advisory board or supervisory board from the area so that the new area does not always get left behind when it comes to big decisions. That is often the last reason why really good ideas don’t take off. They don’t get the support and perseverance they need from the top. Because even on every successful path, there are plenty of hurdles and headwinds.
