List of the 3 largest meat processors in Germany

List of the 3 largest meat processors in Germany

Last Updated on October 16, 2021

Meat is still a valuable part of society’s diet. Every German citizen consumes on average around 60 kg of meat per year – two-third of which is pork. This puts Germany in the middle of the international field in terms of meat consumption and still slightly below the EU average. Nevertheless, meat processing is an important branch of the economy. Here are the 3 largest meat companies at a glance.

The listed companies are part of our list of the 200 largest food producers in Germany.

    • Excel list of the 300 top-selling German food manufacturers for download
    • Includes: sales (2015-2018), number of employees, e-mail, address, telephone number, management, etc.
    • Detailed information on the industry (dairy, bakeries, meat products, confectionery, coffee & tea, beverage producers & breweries, food chemistry, fish, etc.)
    • Download of the Excel file valid indefinitely, free updates within one year after purchase, free preview file available
    • Last update: 14.05.2020

1st place: Tönnies Lebensmittel GmbH & Co. KG, Rheda-Wiedenbrück: 7.3 billion euros turnover (2019)

Tönnies is one of the largest slaughterhouses for pigs and cattle in Germany, as well as a meat processor and meat refiner. The company, which employs around 7,000 people, is family-owned. It was founded in 1971 as a meat and sausage wholesaler in Rheda, North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to Germany, Tönnies has production facilities in Denmark, Poland, Great Britain and France. More than 20 million pigs are slaughtered at Tönnies every year, around three quarters of which are in Germany.

2nd place: Westfleisch SCE, Münster: 2.8 billion euros turnover (2019)

Westfleisch is a cooperative slaughterhouse and meat processor with locations in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. Members and owners are composed of more than 4,000 farmers and the origins of the company date back to 1928. Today, around 1 million tons of meat are sold and more than 8 million pigs slaughtered each year. About 40 percent of the meat is exported.

3rd place: heristo holding gmbh, Bad Rothenfelde: 1.3 billion euros turnover (2018)

At the beginning of heristo there was a small butcher’s shop and restaurant in Versmold. In 1913 it became the Westphalian meat product factory Stockmeyer. It still forms the core of the heristo group today. heristo is a family-owned German food company with a focus on meat processing and sausage products. The Stockmeyer Group is responsible for this within the group. Other business areas include delicatessen (fish), ready meals, vegan nutrition and pet food. heristo has about 3,000 employees.

Picture source: José Ignacio Pompé

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