As of: January 21, 2024, 7:03 p.m
By: Richard Strobl
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Sausage and meat shelf in a supermarket in Hamburg.
(Symbolic image) © IMAGO/Lobeca
Vegan meat alternatives are very popular with many.
A sausage manufacturer simply no longer produces the meat version of a real “classic”.
Bad Zwischenahn - They are extremely popular with many people, but others don't understand the meaning behind the product: Vegan versions of meat products sometimes cause extremely divided reactions and often trigger lively discussions.
The Rügenwalder Mühle company stands fully behind its vegan products and is now taking a drastic step.
The company from Lower Saxony will no longer produce its classic sausage “Schinken Spicker” in the meat version in the future.
The company said it wanted to “give even more space to its vegan and vegetarian products.”
According to the company, “fans of the ham spicker” can (and must) now resort to the “vegan versions of mortadella, grilled vegetables, chives, colorful peppers and colored pepper”.
Classic sausage now only available as a vegan version: company sees “long-term development”
In the statement, Rügenwalder sees itself as a “pioneer in vegetarian and vegan meat and sausage alternatives” and has been increasingly relying on substitute products since 2014.
According to the company, in addition to 23 classic “meat and sausage products”, it now produces almost 50 vegetarian and vegan products.
As early as 2022, more vegetarian products were sold than meat products for the first time.
The decision to no longer produce a meat version of the “Ham Spicker” in the future is based on “production capacities”.
Instead of the meat product, the capacities now freed up will be used in the future for the “Vegan puff cut”.
“This shift in the range is not an effect that we are only seeing now in the current Veganuary, but rather a long-term development,” explains CEO Michael Hähnel of the decision.
The proportion of the range has been shifting towards plant-based products for years.
Last year alone, almost 20 new products were brought onto the market.
And apparently with success.
“That’s why we don’t shy away from discontinuing a successful classic like the Ham Spicker in order to create even more space for plant-based products in our facilities,” Hähnel is quoted as saying in the statement.
Rügenwalder deletes classic “ham spicker”: study sees kink in meat substitute hype
In fact, Rügenwalder Mühle is the best-known manufacturer of meat substitute products among customers.
This was the result of a market analysis by Splendid Research, for which more than 1,400 people were surveyed about their nutritional and purchasing behavior.
According to the study, the best-known manufacturer is Rügenwalder Mühle (81 percent), followed by Alnatura (68 percent) and Gutfried (65 percent).
One in three people consumes meat substitute products at least several times a week.
Recently, however, the popularity of the food has declined somewhat.
50 percent of those surveyed said consumption had remained roughly the same, while 36 percent said it had fallen somewhat or significantly.
The reasons given for this included taste, consistency and the additives it contains.
A study by the GfK Consumer Panel also recently came to the conclusion that the hype surrounding meat substitutes is over for the time being.
The market grew significantly, especially between 2018 and 2021.
However, in 2023, both the quantities consumed per buyer household and the spending on the products fell.
As recently as 2022, two thirds of the vegan products failed the eco-test.
(rist/dpa)