Vegetarian pioneer Godo Röben visited us! As the marketing director of Rügenwalder Mühle, he was instrumental in driving the transformation of a traditional sausage manufacturer into the market leader for plant-based mortadella and similar products starting in 2014. At that time, this market barely existed in Germany. Today, veggie meat is a booming industry, and the family-owned company Rügenwalder is the market leader by a wide margin.
Godo Röben has since moved on. The marketing expert now advises Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir as well as start-ups in the field of alternative proteins—the technical term for steaks made from wheat or burger patties made from peas. Röben believes that by 2030, these could achieve a market share of more than 20 percent and largely displace meat and sausage products. This would be excellent news for the climate, for nature, and for the animals that are currently still frequently subjected to electric stunners in large-scale slaughterhouses.
In our conversation, Godo Röben explains why the veggie patty industry is growing exponentially and how to convince even die-hard meat eaters to try soy mortadella. We also wanted to know what "salami tactics" he used to campaign for this radical change of course within the company—and where he found the courage when almost no one believed in veggie sausage.