Sales increase by more than 250 percent | New product range for meat substitutes | New “DeKoepers” brand

Tönnies continues to invest in expansion of activities in the veggie sector.

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 06. August 2021 – About six months ago, the Tönnies Group bundled its activities in the vegetarian and vegan segment under its own business unit Vevia 4 You GmbH & Co. KG. Now the Rheda-Wiedenbrück-based food manufacturer is making an initial evaluation. And that turns out to be more than positive. For in addition to a broad listing of the products under the brands “Gutfried”, “Veviva” and “Es schmeckt” in the food retail trade, consumers also confirm the path taken in this area. For the group of companies, this area is an integral part of its sustainability agenda.

“It has paid off that we have focused on quality rather than speed in product development,” says Maximilian Tönnies. Accordingly, the company’s goal is to score points with products that are convincing in terms of taste. To achieve this, the decision-makers at Tönnies have conducted extensive taste tests together with the product developers. “In the area of product development, we have made a big leap in a short time. Consumer panels show the acceptance of the products by consumers. This is where we now want to establish ourselves.” But the group of companies is already seeing a sharp jump in sales: while revenue in 2019 was still at 8.3 million euros, Tönnies is planning for sales of 30 million euros by the end of this year – an increase of more than 250 percent.

The driver for this is expected to be the market for meat substitutes following the successful start in the sausage substitute segment. Tönnies’ range in this segment is aimed not only at vegetarians and vegans, but also at flexitarians, i.e. those who want to do without meat from time to time. “For this target group, taste and sensory perception are quite important. Our goal is for both to come very close to the meat product,” explains Maximilian Tönnies. And that’s exactly what they’ve achieved with the new products in the “Wie” series, he says. “The chicken nuggets, chicken schnitzel or fish sticks taste like the original. Our product developers have done a great job. Even my father tastes that now.” The company spent two years tinkering with these products before they were ready for the market.

The “Wie” series is nearing completion, with only the finishing touches missing. But there are already broad listing commitments for the products. “We were able to convince the food retail primarily with the taste,” says Maximilian Tönnies. With a multi-channel campaign (including TV commercials), the company is also launching a corresponding marketing offensive in September.

The vegetarian and vegan articles are produced in the company’s own plant in Böklund. Capacities there are to be further expanded and extended. Tönnies plans to invest a double-digit million sum here in the coming years. This will also involve expanding the product range and further optimizing the products. There is a clear business plan for this: For example, the company is planning sales of around 24 million euros in sausage substitutes by the end of this year, and around 6 million euros in meat substitutes. By 2025, total sales in both areas together are expected to rise to over 120 million euros.

Even though meat and sausage production will continue to make up the group’s main business, Maximilian Tönnies says, “We have long since ceased to be a pure slaughterhouse, but a food manufacturer.” Among other things, he points to activities in the convenience sector – for example, with cheese products under the new “DeKoepers” brand, which can be prepared in the microwave or on the grill in a short time. Likewise, the company has snacks, sauces or even grill items on its radar. “We still have some good ideas up our sleeve there that consumers can look forward to.” Incidentally, the company does not use rainforest soy in any of its meat substitute products, relying instead on European soy. “This is part of our t30 sustainability strategy, which we continue to drive forward unwaveringly. We want to produce enjoyable, healthy food that is as sustainable as possible.”

Ownership structure remains unchanged | Disruption proceedings ended | Expansion of organic production

Tönnies remains a family company

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 04. August 2021 – The shareholders of the Tönnies Group – Robert, Clemens and Maximilian Tönnies – today announced that the previous ownership structure will remain unchanged. The shares in the company will thus remain in family hands. The shareholders emphasize that they will continue to lead the company into the future together as a family business. In addition, both shareholder trunks declare the dispute to be over.

In the first half of 2021, the two shareholder trusts Robert Tönnies (50%) and Clemens and Maximilian Tönnies (50%) jointly examined various options for the future design of the ownership structure. They came to the conclusion that the current structure is exactly the right one to continue decades of successful work. All shareholders have the goal of shaping the future of Tönnies together with the operational management. The company is well positioned and ready to tackle the socio-political challenges systematically.

The shareholders agree that Tönnies is unique worldwide in its orientation as an integrated food producer. This corporate value is to be continuously increased. In the course of their strategic deliberations, the shareholders have therefore unanimously determined further focal points for the company’s development in addition to the expansion of the core business in Germany.

In the coming years, the focus will be on sustainability, climate protection and animal welfare. The expansion of new business areas such as pet food or plant-based meat alternatives will play an increasingly important role. Tönnies is already the market leader in the organic sector. In the interests of sustainable corporate development, this segment is to be continuously expanded.

With the clear statement for the joint future as a family business, the shareholders are making their contribution to putting an end to the rumors and speculation about a sale or partial sale of the company.

Online

Digital plant tour provides insights into Tönnies production

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 02 July 2021 – How is work done at Tönnies in Rheda-Wiedenbrück? And what do slaughtering and butchering actually look like? Questions like these were answered by the food company several times a week during an extensive guided tour for countless groups of visitors before the Corona period. In order to continue to show transparency, the family-owned company in Rheda-Wiedenbrück has taken a new approach: anyone interested can take a digital 360-degree tour of the plant online.

It is now more than a year since Tönnies took its last group of visitors, for the time being, on a tour of the plant on Gütersloher Straße. “During the year, we showed several thousand interested people our plant here,” says Tönnies Managing Director André Vielstädte. “However, due to Corona and the still increased prevention measures, the tours have been reduced to almost zero.” Nevertheless, in order to give as many interested parties as possible an insight into the production of the high-quality food, the company has developed a digital plant tour.

“We stand fully behind our production and our processes. We have nothing to hide there – on the contrary,” explains Andrè Vielstädte. “Many visitors have repeatedly described to us how impressive they found the tour and our plant.” That’s why the motto continues to be: full transparency. Thus, virtual visitors can click their way through the entire food production process: Tönnies shows the delivery of the animals at the holding pen, the feed for stunning, slaughtering and cutting, shipping and logistics. “In the digital tour, we show everything that we have always presented openly and transparently to visitors during a normal tour on site,” adds the managing director. “It’s important to us to show how we work.”

On several days, the various stations of the production have been recorded with a 360-degree camera. “This gives the digital visitor the opportunity to rotate completely in all directions. This gives a complete insight into the respective areas,” Vielstädte continues.

A Tönnies employee accompanies users on the tour. She explains interesting facts about the company and the production areas. With the digital plant tour, the family-owned company from Rheda-Wiedenbrück is taking a path that no competitor in the industry has yet taken. “If we talk about consumers knowing too little about agriculture, then that also applies to food production. We now want to remedy this with our digital tour,” emphasizes André Vielstädte.

The digital tour can be accessed at www.toennies.de/digitale-betriebsfuehrung/