by Kira Rechtenbach, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany.
A 190-year-old sausage manufacturer that turned sausages into a branded product. Long known for its traditional Teewurst. Today, it generates more revenue from plant-based products and leads Germany’s meat substitute market. While vegetarians and vegans were once seen as the “enemy,” they now form the focal point of the brand. Rügenwalder Mühle achieved this impressive transformation.
The year 2014 marked the company’s transition into the plant-based market. At the time, the meat substitute sector was still a niche, largely dominated by start-ups. Only a small minority of consumers followed a plant-based diet. However, Rügenwalder anticipated the growing momentum and dared to step into the emerging market. The company faced considerable skepticism and disapproval from both competitors and internally. Yet this resistance later proved to be a significant advantage, as Rügenwalder moved early and took the risk of challenging its traditional identity in anticipation of future developments.
Rügenwalder Mühle’s strategy is straightforward: sustainability without effort. It does not position itself as an eco-brand targeting strict vegans, but rather focuses on flexitarians through convenient, familiar, and delicious products. In doing so, the company actively shaped mainstream consumption and arguably accelerated the “veggie boom”. Hastily, large competitors followed, but Rügenwalder Mühle had already secured its market position through innovation, technology, and product excellence.
By 2021, for the first time, Rügenwalder Mühle generated more revenue from meat alternatives than from its traditional products, becoming the market leader with a 41% market share (Gerhus, 2026). Moreover, the majority of its product portfolio consists of plant-based alternatives, and the company went so far as to discontinue its best-selling cold cut, “Schinken Spicker,” now offering only the vegan version. These strategic decisions reflect a deliberate effort to integrate sustainability into the company’s core strategy.
While the prospects of reducing meat consumption, and consequently, CO₂ emissions appear feasible, the company still profits from conventional meat sales. Furthermore, plant-based alternatives are often significantly more expensive than their meat counterparts, raising the question of whether sustainability here is truly about impact or about margins. Given the relatively low cost of ingredients and the long list of additives, the highly processed products can hardly be considered genuinely healthy. The recent acquisition of a majority stake by Pfeifer & Langen further embeds the company within a growth-oriented corporate structure, suggesting that economic expansion remains a central priority.
Thus, in a world shaped by the grand challenges of climate change, companies can no longer hide behind tradition. Through early action, Rügenwalder Mühle turned sustainability into a competitive advantage, demonstrating that responsibility can function as a growth strategy rather than a constraint. Although sustainability is rarely black and white in practice, managers carry the responsibility of balancing the interests of all stakeholders. A task that requires bold and courageous leadership.
As such, the case captures what Sustainable and Responsible Management looks like when theory meets reality. Because, in times defined by planetary limits, the boldest move may be to challenge your own tradition before the market forces you to.
References
Gerhus, J. (2026, January 22). Markenbeliebtheit Fleischersatzprodukte in Deutschland 2025. Statista. https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1309959/umfrage/bekannteste-marken-fuer-fleischersatzprodukte-in-deutschland/
