Supermarket chain REWE opens a full vegan store
A week ago, supermarket chain REWE opened a fully vegan store in Berlin. The new store, called REWE Voll Pflanzlich (Fully Vegetarian), is the first of its kind from the brand, which has already opened two such stores in Austria, in Vienna and Graz, and has extensive vegetable departments in at least 21 other locations. REWE is the country’s 2nd largest food retailer, with around 3,300 outlets nationwide.
Located in a popular tourist district of East Berlin on Warschauer Straße, the new store was previously home to the pioneering plant-based supermarket Veganz, which closed in 2023 so the company could focus on product manufacturing.
Germany accepts plant-based foods
Over the past few years, REWE has increasingly catered to plant-based shoppers and introduced a dedicated vegan meat counter and service counters stocked with plant-based options.
The opening of a fully plant-based store was probably inspired by the high demand for plant-based foods in Germany. The new Voll Pflanzlich store offers more than 2,700 plant-based foods.
Germany currently has the highest rate of vegetarianism in Europe, with more than 1.5 million vegans. In addition, half of the population – more than 40 million people – claim to be flexitarian or otherwise reduce their consumption of animal products. In fact, only 20 percent of Germans still eat meat daily, a record change in eating habits (Click here for the results of the Hungarian Consumer Patterns Survey.)
The German government itself has even pledged to invest €38 million to promote vegan foods and alternative proteins such as precision fermented, cell-cultured and plant-based meats to protect the environment. ProVeg, a food NGO, had previously described the German government’s pledge as “groundbreaking”.
REWE Group CEO Peter Maly sees the plant-based supermarket as an important test.
“With the “REWE Voll Pflanzlich” initiative, we are showing how diverse and wide the range of vegan products is. We have been repeatedly recognised as vegan pioneers in the food trade in the past, and we are encouraged by the strong response from our customers. Dairy alternatives and fresh convenience products have proved particularly popular so far. Our plant-based supermarket has twice as many products as the regular REWE range.”
Peter Maly, CEO of REWE Group
Exclusive products, lots of organic and many new brands
The fully vegan shop is compact and clear with 212 square metres of retail space. It starts with fruit and vegetables, followed immediately by the salad bar and fresh sushi from Eat Happy. Crates and refrigerators along the walls hold chilled smoothies, spreads, seitan and more. Vegetable drinks, nuts, spices, baked goods and drugstore items line the shelves in the middle of the store. The snack bar tempts you with fresh creams, fruit variations and sandwiches.
The range of plant-based foods and drugstore products is even larger: there is space for more than 2,700 products from around 300 brands. REWE’s own brands are prominently represented, including the grocer’s best-selling plant-based products such as oat drinks, smoked tofu and REWE Bio + vegan falafel balls.
Not Guilty is stocked with organic sweets, crisps, cornflakes, spirits, gourmet dips and sauces, vegan meatloaf, and a very wide range of products from baking mixes to dressings and pasta sauces. If you’re looking for a snack on the go or just want to try something new, you’ve come to the right place. If you want to do your entire week’s shopping here, you’ll find everything you need.
A curiosity is the ice cream machine, from which shoppers can whip up soft vegetable ice cream.
REWE Voll Pflanzlich relies on a team of 12 people
The staff and employees have all received special training on the range of plant-based products so that they can give the best possible advice to customers.