Natural, Plant-Based, Delicious
Interview with Maximilian Saure, CEO of Upländer Feinkost GmbH
Germany is internationally known for its meat dishes, roasts, schnitzels, and sausage products. Although domestic meat consumption is still at a comparatively high level, demand for alternatives is continuously increasing. Maximilian Saure, CEO of Upländer Feinkost GmbH, has recognized the signs of the times and initiated a transformation from a meat products company to a quality-oriented provider of substitute products.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Saure, you have been the managing director of Upländer Feinkost since 2019 and have initiated a fundamental transformation of the company. Please explain this to us.
Maximilian Saure: We originally come from the meat business. My grandfather founded the company in 1986, my father joined in 2007 and introduced convenience products for the gastronomy to offer even greater added value. Later, we also offered ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat products, prepared dishes, and soup components and delivered these ready packaged to our customers. We had invested heavily in the necessary technologies. With the outbreak of the pandemic, our market collapsed. We then focused on alternative meat substitute products, especially products based on nuts, but also on pea or soy proteins. We have reduced our range of meat products. With this concept, we approached the retail food industry and were quickly able to increase our sales.
Above all, our sweet creams and spreads were quickly successful. In 2020, we obtained organic certification. So far, about 45% of our products are organic, and this percentage will rise to 75% over the course of this year. We are still in the midst of the transformation, but we have already been able to win over some big names in the market, such as DM, EDEKA, or Rossmann.
Wirtschaftsforum: What are the flagship products in your range today?
Maximilian Saure: Nuts are our overarching theme, for example for sweet date creams. These consist of nuts, dates, and spices. We also offer a range of nut derivatives. For this product group, we exclusively use nuts, which are refined with a fruit or spice component. The application range of these products is extremely diverse, ranging from spreading on bread to topping muesli or as a baking ingredient. Our meat substitute range includes ready-made meals. Regionally, we also operate a daily business with meat products. Here, we strictly separate the production of meat and non-meat products.
Wirtschaftsforum: What are the current topics you are focusing on?
Maximilian Saure: At the moment, logistics is high on my agenda. Previously, we were producers and service providers. Accordingly, we have an extensive fleet of vehicles, which we are now gradually giving up. We will hand over transportation to experienced logistics partners and redeploy employees from this area through re-skilling in other areas of the company. As for the products, we are noticing a trend towards snack products, bars, and drinkable meals. We are currently creating three variations of protein bars and various nut-based drinkable meals.
Wirtschaftsforum: You are leading the company in the 3rd family generation. That must certainly fill you with pride, but it is also a great responsibility. Where would you like to see Upländer Feinkost in the market in the long term?
Maximilian Saure: The last few years have been a major challenge for our team. Therefore, I would like to bring us out of this transformation and into 'calmer waters' soon. In the long term, my great wish is to become the leader in quality and price-performance in the innovative organic segment. The topic of private labeling will certainly become even more important in the coming years. Additionally, I would like to increase our market position in the DACH region. Regarding pride and responsibility – I want to encourage other successors in family-owned companies. They should be courageous in initiating transformations and also continuing even when there are setbacks. It is essential that a family business is handed over at the right time and that the handing over generation has trust. I was very fortunate with my father.