You do not expect a direct link with livestock farming from an electronics giant such as Siemens, known for its dishwashers and washing machines, among other things. Nevertheless, the multinational gives livestock farmers striking advice for increasing the added value of their meat.
The German group is calling on livestock farmers to do business directly with company restaurants of large companies. That is what the catering of Siemens did last year.
Last year, Siemens restaurant service successfully sold 40.000 kilos of Tierwohl pork, from Court Marklewitz in Luchow. This mixed company, including arable farming, cattle farming and pig farming, is located in the German state of Lower Saxony, near the former GDR border. With this, Siemens wants to serve its own employees sustainably and regionally produced meat.
Butchery hard to find
Marklewitz houses the finishing pigs from 8 kilos in stables with an outdoor area and lots of straw. The pigs are only fed feed that is composed of raw materials that come from their own company and from the region. Delivering to the company restaurants of Siemens did cause some starting problems, TopAgrar reports. Finding a suitable slaughterhouse that could process relatively small quantities of meat separately was not easy. That finally worked.
The Tierwohl pork products in company restaurants have become somewhat more expensive compared to conventionally produced meat. However, experience has shown that Siemens employees are willing to pay this additional price for the extra taste experience. Incidentally, they also have no choice, since the caterer has completely replaced the traditional meat product range with Tierwohl. Siemens restaurant service also wants to replace the chicken meat and beef range with a Tierwohl concept.
Gastronomic growth market
In Germany alone, 600.000 people eat daily in company restaurants. This is a major growth market for which, according to Siemens' gastronomic department, too little attention is paid to the agricultural sector. It is difficult for company restaurants to find suitable suppliers to make their offer more sustainable. This is mainly due to the fact that the current agricultural chain focuses on large retail chains with an extensive product range.
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