Sustainability

11 April 2024

REWE opens its first exclusively plant-based supermarket

A green supermarket blooms in a Berlin neighbourhood
Reading time: 8 min.

  • ‘REWE voll pflanzlich’, in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, carries more than 2,700 plant-based foods

  • A snack bar, fruits, sushi, soft-serve ice cream, baked goods, health and beauty products and much more

  • Strong brands, in-house production and regional specialities

A wide range of green products: REWE’s first entirely plant-based supermarket has opened its doors in Berlin (on 11 April, 7 a.m.). The fully plant-based REWE supermarket next to the Warsaw Bridge in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin offers more than 2,700 vegan products. REWE has more than 3,800 supermarkets, offering everything from organic vegetables to cheese and meat, and now the company has opened its first vegan store.

Peter Maly, member of the REWE Group’s Executive Board, sees this plant-based supermarket as a test case. ‘REWE voll pflanzlich’ shows how large and varied the selection of vegan products can be, he says. We have been recognised numerous times in the past as a pioneer in selling vegan food products, and we are encouraged by the positive response from our customers. Conventional REWE stores carry up to 1,400 vegan products, a number that has grown substantially over the past few years. So far, dairy alternatives and fresh convenience products have proved to be particularly popular. Our plant-based supermarket offers twice as many products as a regular REWE supermarket. Most of all we are hoping to learn lessons that will benefit our traditional supermarkets. Here, next to the Warsaw Bridge in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, we have an opportunity to add even more new products and brands to our shelves. We’re very excited!

Franziska Giffey, mayor and state senator for economic affairs, energy and public enterprises in Berlin, offered the following remarks on the occasion of the supermarket’s opening: Berlin is the right place to introduce innovations, and that includes new approaches to retailing. With a supermarket devoted exclusively to plant-based products, REWE is showing how broad the range of available foods has become and will be able to use the Berlin store to test customer demand. Shopping habits are changing; people are living and eating much more consciously today than in the past. We also see this on supermarket shelves, where the selection of products is continuing to expand to meet customers’ diverse needs. I wish the store and its employees great success.

Exclusive products, many organic items and new brands

With 212 square meters of retail space, ‘REWE voll pflanzlich’ is compact and clearly laid out. Its selection of plant-based foods and health and beauty products is all the more impressive, including more than 2,700 items from approximately 300 brands. Prominent among them are the private labels REWE Bio + vegan, REWE Bio, REWE Beste Wahl and Vivess. Offerings also include the food retailer’s most successful plant-based products, such as an oat drink, smoked tofu and the falafel from REWE Bio + vegan.

Customers will find well-known brands such as Rügenwalder, Oatly and Alpro as well as new names, such as Not Guilty with its certified-organic candy, For Foodies with its dips and sauces and Greenforce with its vegan meatloaf and Swedish meatball alternatives. An especially wide range of products is available from the bedda, bettr and Koro brands, including more than 50 items.

BioVegan products are sold exclusively at this location and include baking mixes, dressings and pasta sauces. Among the products coming directly from Berlin are organic chips from Heimatgut, cornflakes from Wholey and ready-to-eat bowls from Goodbank. For the first time, REWE is offering vegan egg liqueur from the Berlin-based spirits producer Mampe. Another highlight is a self-serve vegan ice cream machine.

Everything needed for a green weekly shopping trip

If you need a snack for on the go, or just want to try something new, you’ve come to the right place. You’ll also find everything you need for your weekly shopping trip, says Dennis Henkelmann, who manages the store. We carry a wide range of products, everything from vegan burger sauce, ramen and wine to a variety of snacks. We’re a real supermarket, just plant based. Henkelmann, an independent retailer, relies on a team of 12 people at ‘REWE voll pflanzlich’. Having received targeted training in the store’s plant-based inventory, they are well equipped to provide customers with the best possible advice. Henkelmann, a native of Berlin, was already managing a REWE store in the neighbourhood (Revaler Strasse 33).

When shoppers enter the supermarket, the first things they see are fruits and vegetables, followed immediately by the salad bar and fresh sushi from Eat Happy. Along the walls are refrigerated display cases containing smoothies, spreads, seitan and much more. On the shelves in the middle of the store are plant-based drinks, nuts, spices, baking ingredients and health and beauty items. The snack bar offers customers spreads, various types of fruit and sandwiches such as the “Laxx Kracher” – all made fresh each day by employees. Frozen items such as vegan ice cream, refrigerated drinks and a large assortment of plant-based baked goods are on display near the checkouts.

The supermarket is close to the suburban train and surrounded by residential buildings and offices. We have therefore made a conscious choice to offer a wide selection of baked goods. We carry more than 40 items, from sweet vegan pastries to seeded bagels to Sunday breakfast rolls, says Henkelmann.

‘REWE voll pflanzlich’ also has three self-checkouts where customers can scan their own purchases. With “Scan & Go,” they can use a hand scanner or smartphone to scan their groceries as they remove them from the shelves and place them in their shopping trollies.

Neon meets nature

Another notable feature of ‘REWE voll pflanzlich’, in addition to its exclusively plant-based inventory, is its visual appearance. The colour palette features bright yellow, deep green and a warm rust red. Colourful triangles hang down from the ceiling almost to the floor. The store’s aesthetic was designed in partnership with creative agency CMF.
Stefan Hörning, CEO of REWE East, observes, “‘REWE voll pflanzlich’ is an eye-catcher. We wanted it to be vibrant, striking and natural. We carry unique products, including a large number of fresh items. You can try new things in our store, and much of our inventory is organic. Young companies with new ideas are given an opportunity to gain a coveted spot on the supermarket shelves. Our logo, too, catches the eye. We were able to give the familiar red REWE logo a new look for the first time. We added the simple words ‘voll pflanzlich’ – ‘entirely plant-based’ – to the logo’s green lettering. This was a straightforward way of communicating what the store has to offer.

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    The opening of the new store in Berlin was attended by Dennis Henkelmann (from left); salesman, Stefan Hörning; CEO of REWE Ost, Franziska Giffey; Berlin’s Mayor and Senator for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises and Peter Maly; CEO of REWE Group.

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    Exterior view of the “REWE voll pflanzlich” in Berlin-Friedrichshain.

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    The ‘REWE voll pflanzlich’ is an eye-catcher. Lively, eye-catching, natural.

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    There are more than 2,700 vegan products in the store.

Plant-based food is in high demand

With the broad range of plant-based products on offer in its supermarkets, REWE has been pioneering the food retail sector for many years. This has been affirmed by independent sources, including a ranking published by the Albert Schweitzer Foundation (2023) and the PETA Vegan Food Award (2021). A survey commissioned by REWE and conducted by GfK in autumn last year found that plant-based food has long become a staple for many consumers. More than half of the roughly 1,000 respondents reported having purchased vegan alternatives in the past. Slightly less than 27 percent said that they substitute plant-based alternatives for meat products several times a week or more. The most frequent reason for making such purchases, named by 54 percent of respondents, was simply a desire to try something new. Similarly, the 2023 Nutrition Report from the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture identified curiosity as the most common motivation (73%). That representative survey also showed that the popularity of plant-based alternatives has steadily grown since 2015.

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‘REWE voll pflanzlich’ at a gance

Warschauer Straße 33, 10243 Berlin (S + U Warschauer Brücke)
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 7-22 o’clock

About REWE

  • With sales of 30.6 billion euros (2023), more than 170.000 employees and over 3,800 REWE stores, REWE Markt GmbH is one of Germany’s leading food retail companies. REWE stores are run as subsidiaries or by independent REWE retailers.

    The cooperatively organised REWE Group is one of the leading trade and tourism groups in Germany and Europe. In 2023, the company generated a total external turnover of around 92billion euros. Founded in 1927, the REWE Group has around 390,000 employees and operates in 21 European countries.

thomas-bonrath

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Thomas Bonrath

Head of Media Relations and Spokesperson REWE Markt

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