Free From Sector

Germany

Putting names to faces

James Scott, Senior Trade Adviser

Ronja Baller, Trade Adviser Selina Rakowski, Trade Adviser

Who are we?

• DIT is the government organisation that helps UK-based companies

succeed in the global economy:

provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive in

the world stage.

Help you strengthen your position in Germany.

• DIT Germany is located on the ground: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Munich.

• In the UK: International Trade Advisers (ITAs) in your region

• Visit: www.gov.uk

• We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment

to the UK‘s dynamic economy.

What we will cover today

The German Market

Facts, Sales Channels

The German Consumer

Culture, Preferences, Behaviour, Language

Preparing for the Market

Trade Fairs, Packaging, Website

Doing Business

Mindset, Sales Channels, UKTI Help

Germany at a glance

Largest EU Population

Largest European

GDP

Strong “Mittelstand”

Bigger trading

partner than BRICs

Largest Market in Europe

Trade Fair Nation

The German Food & Drink Market

• Food and Drink is one of the largest industry sectors in

Germany

• Around 6,000 (SME) companies employing approximately

550,000 people.

• Largest industry segment (production value) meat/sausage

products.

• Sales of organic products are the highest in Europe.

• Discounters (such as Aldi & Lidl) have a very large share of

the market (approximately 41%) putting pressure on

mainstream supermarkets to keep their prices competitive.

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The V-Markets: Vegetarianism and Veganism

7 million vegetarians =

8-9 % of population

1 million vegans, strong growth

Growth boom:

Supermarkets, cook-books,

lifestyle-magazines, blogs,

restaurants, discounters,

St*rbucks, Berlin!

Meat consumption:

Going down

Meat Alternatives...

Selected Free From Categories

• Gluten Free; is by far the largest free from sector and is

important for all food retail channels, i.e. health shops,

organic stores and supermarkets/discounters

• Lactose Free; largest sector for these products are

supermarkets/discounters – all classic dairy products.

Organic stores focus on vegan based milk substitutes

and health stores cover both the lactose free and vegan

categories.

• Egg Free; to date this has not been considered as a

separate category and is covered by vegan products. In

organic and health store it is integrated in vegan offer

and in supermarkets/discounters not relevant.

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Free From Product Declarations

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Food Trends

Vegan

Ethnic

Regional

Curated food

Flexitarianism

Urban Farming

Blemished

Seasonal

Wild food

Healthy Convenience

Foodie Events & Street Glutenfree

Lactose Free

Future Business Trends...

Top 10 Food Retailers in Germany 2016

Retailers, discounters & specialist retailers

Sales Channels

What Germans Love…

Emotional…

Price/Selection/Atmosphere…

Animal and Environment welfare …

Brand-loyalty…

Certified/approved goods…

Organic Food Certification

Food & Drink Labelling Requirements

Potential exporters need to be aware of regulations such as:

• Labelling – lists of contents need to be in German

• Recycling – Green Dot (as of 2009 no longer mandatory in

Germany)

• Compulsory deposits on PET bottles.

Germans prefer to:

• Do business with companies in familiar legal form (e.g. GmbH)

• Purchase from companies who have an office in Germany

• Call German telephone numbers

• Make decisions rather gradually

Things to think about and prepare

German buyers

Packaging & labels

€ Pricelists

Story, spin, USP

Certification

Samples

Website considerations for Germany

Landing page

• Bare minimum – About us / What we do

Language switch option (flag)

• Descriptive product page in German

Fully translated website

• May expect German speaker!

Non-UK centric (internationlise)

• Can you connect with a wider audience?

Trade & Consumer Magazines and Blogs

Trade Fairs: Global Leader

Associations and Chambers

Vegan Event

“Kaiser’s Grüßt die Queen”

DIT Support

On the ground

Export Opportunities

OMIS

General Information

Event Support

Your questions…

Contact Details

James Scott

James.Scott@mobile.trade.gov.uk

https://de.linkedin.com/in/james-scott-31b865120

Tel: 0049 211 9448 153