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Food industry

The surrounding agricultural regions and the six million consumers in the metropolitan area provide a solid foundation for growth in the food and beverage sector.

The agriculture and food industry is an important economic factor for the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region. In comparison to other federal states, organic farming is of above-average importance in Brandenburg.

Facts and figures at a glance

  • 114 companies (based on companies with 20 or more employees)
  • 13,000 regular employees   
  • 2.5 billion euros in revenue   
  • export share: 29 %

(Source: Trade Association of the Food Industry in Berlin and Brandenburg e.V. for 2019)

The food industry accounts for about 10% of all employment in the manufacturing sector. Berlin is focused on:

  • production of coffee,
  • confectionery and baked goods,
  • fruit and vegetable processing,
  • the beverage industry as well as on
  • meat processing.

Nationally and internationally known brands such as Bahlsen, Cargill, Coca-Cola, Freiberger, Kühne, Radeberger Gruppe, Storck and Stollwerck already benefit from the ideal environment Berlin offers. Sawade is the oldest chocolate factory in Berlin. A company like Fassbender & Rausch has become the largest chocolate producer in the world.

In recent years, Berlin has also grown into the creative beer capital. The art of brewing is cultivated at many locations. Under the heading Handcrafted, numerous microbreweries produce their own craft beer, for example the founders of BRLO and Thorsten Schoppe Bräu. In Mariendorf, the Scottish brewery Brew Dog has taken over the craft beer temple on the former gasworks site from the American company Stone Brewing and has opened the world’s first CO2-negative brewery.

The food industry particularly benefits from the more than 240 biotech companies located in the region. Common goals include tapping biogenic raw materials for industrial production, making production processes more sustainable and improving competitiveness. Practical applications from biotechnology include probiotic bacteria that protect against disease or prebiotics that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. For example, in the case of food supplements, new strains of bacteria with extraordinary abilities are being sought or new ways of using algae are being developed.

Food tech

Berlin is rapidly becoming the center of Germany's food tech scene. EDEKA started the Food Tech Campus in Berlin Moabit for food start-ups to test their ideas. They, together with EDEKA buyers, can thus play a decisive role in shaping the future of the food trade and drive the growth of the business. In addition to a co-working space, a kitchen studio and an event room offer space for development, testing, and dialogue as well as direct contact with customers. The food academy, food space, and other events also serve as launch pads for new business models.

KitchenTown is an incubator and accelerator for food and food-tech startups. In a highly flexible production facility, founders can develop their product ideas, test them and bring them to market. Supplemented by the necessary industry knowledge, Kitchentown offers startups access to all relevant topics for scaling the product idea - all under one roof.

Why Berlin?

„For our idea of using our incubator to support food start-ups with equipment, expertise, networking, and, in some cases, also financing, Berlin is the place to be. The city has a vibrant food scene which allows us to put together an ideal mix of different event formats, start-ups, and relevant players in the industry.“

Lukas Neuss
Lukas Neuss Co-Founder KitchenTown Berlin

Together with the startup ECF Farmsystems, REWE is also committed to holistic, sustainable, and regional food production - short transport routes and superfluous packaging materials make it possible.

Internationally active companies use Berlin as a springboard, such as Infarm - Indoor Urban Farming, which grows lettuce and herbs directly in Berlin's supermarkets. Stadtfarm.de also works ultra-locally with, among other things, its own fish farm and vegetable cultivation modelled on natural cycles. So far, the concept is only available in Berlin. Expansion to new locations is expected.

Berlin offers excellent location advantages for start-ups in the food and food tech sectors, and not just as the ideal test market for Germany. In recent years, new and rapidly growing companies have come to the capital, including:

Further major projects with a focus on the food industry are in development. For example, the company ArtProjekt is planning a new FoodCampus Berlin, which will offer a platform for all segments of the sustainable food industry and its service providers. New areas for research and development, production, administration, marketing, and logistics  are to be built in Berlin from 2025.

Which food trends are shaping the food transformation is a topic already being discussed in the Food Campus Community Food Campus Digital.

Location advantages for the food industry

  • Metropolitan Berlin is an ideal test market for new products.
  • Berlin's close economic relations with the ten new EU member states and its proximity to the 250 million consumers in Eastern Europe mean promising sales opportunities.
  • The region's robust agricultural sector ensures that food and beverage makers have quick access to the quality ingredients they need.
  • Service providers in the packaging industry and logistics centers guarantee the shortest possible path to consumers.
  • The eastward expansion of the EU is opening new horizons. New quality certification programs for organic meats and potatoes offer producers new ways to improve their marketing and boost sales.
  • Another promising field for the industry is the processing of local agricultural resources.
  • The growth of the organic food market is especially dynamic in Berlin, which has more organic supermarkets than any other European city. There are clear opportunities for value-added processing in the areas of yoghurt, cheese, frozen foods, convenience foods, chilled foods and juices.
  • A number of leading international tradeshows take place in Berlin, including the Grüne Woche, which is the world's largest consumer exhibition for agriculture and nutrition, and the Fruit Logistica, which is the leading industry get-together for the fresh fruit trade.

(Source: Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises (Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe), 2023)

© Berlin Partner

The food industry in Berlin Brandenburg

Use our interactive industry map to learn more about selected locations and available infrastructure - in 2D and in 3D.

Interactive Map

Selection of scientific institutions

Selection of networks, initiatives and associations

Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE)
The Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE) is the political top-level association of the German food and drink industry.
www.bve-online.de

Association for the Promotion of Organic Farming Berlin-Brandenburg (FÖL)
The Association for the Promotion of Organic Farming Berlin-Brandenburg (FÖL) is a non-profit association promoting the demand for organic products by general consumer information and public relations activities.
www.bio-berlin-brandenburg.de

Trade Association of Food Industry in Berlin and Brandenburg
The Trade Association of Food Industry in Berlin and Brandenburg is the advocacy of the economic sector which is important for the region.
www.wveb.de

ZIM Network - Agriphotonics
In the international ZIM network "AgriPhotonik - Knowledge-based, site-adapted and sustainable crop production using optical methods" coordinated by OpTecBB, not only two different fields of technology are linked, but through the international cooperation with Israel, new AgriPhotonik solutions are developed, which are to be brought to the global market.
optecbb.de/projekte/agriphotonik

FoodBerlin
FoodBerlin is a research and innovation network on sustainable food systems of scientists from major universities and research institutes in the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region.
www.foodberlin.de

Food Industry Cluster of the State of Brandenburg
The cluster connects the companies and research facilities of the food industry in the state of Brandenburg.
www.ernaehrungswirtschaft-brandenburg.de

pro agro e.V.
pro agro is a federation that works on behalf of rural areas in the Brandenburg-Berlin region.
www.proagro.de

Selection of company builders, incubators, accelerators, and labs

Food Tech Campus
Edeka headquarters is opening a Food Tech Campus in Berlin's Moabit district, which will serve as a contact point for start-ups. They can rent office space there and seek advice from food experts.
foodtechcampus.com

Hungry Ventures
As a consulting company in the food industry, Hungry Ventures specialises in understanding the challenges related to new business models, digitalisation, and innovation and helps shape the necessary changes.
www.hungry-ventures.com

Katjes Greenfood
The youngest company in the Katjes Group is investing in the rapidly growing market for sustainable, plant-based foods. The focus has been deliberately outside the confectionery market, resulting in a broad product and brand portfolio.
www.katjesgreenfood.berlin

Kitchentown
Kitchentown is a new incubator in Berlin just for food startups. Thanks to the German branch of the Silicon Valley company Kitchentown, start-up entrepreneurs can hone their products, produce the first batches, and, if necessary, even raise capital.
www.kitchentown.de

METRO Xcel
METRO Xcel offers start-ups help entering new markets, expanding their own product and service range to include gastronomy, and penetrating the market.
www.metroxcel.com

ProVeg Incubator
The ProVeg Incubator runs a future-oriented program for company founders seeking to replace conventional animal foods with plant or fungus-based and/or other cultivated products. The aim is to reduce the worldwide consumption of animal products.
provegincubator.com

Further innovation and creative labs in Berlin