German meat firm The Premium Food Group acquires The Family Butchers
The deal gives The Family Butchers access to raw materials and financial support amid falling meat consumption.
GERMANY – The Premium Food Group, formerly known as Tönnies Group, is taking a significant stake in German sausage and ham maker The Family Butchers as the struggling company seeks financial stability.
The Family Butchers confirmed a strategic partnership between the two companies in a statement, calling it a response to ongoing economic difficulties in the meat sector.
The transaction is still awaiting clearance from Germany’s competition watchdog.
As part of the agreement, The Family Butchers will cut ties with its current umbrella organisation, InFamily Foods Holding.
Ownership changes will also follow, with The Premium Food Group set to acquire shares previously held by Hans-Ewald Reinert, who co-owns InFamily Foods.
Reinert plans to exit the shareholder group and focus on other ventures, including plant-based foods and the Reinert-Bärchen children’s brand.
The other co-owner of InFamily Foods, Wolfgang Kühnl, will retain his interest in The Family Butchers and remain on the board.
According to German outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The Premium Food Group is aiming to acquire 48.75% of The Family Butchers, while Kühnl is expected to hold on to a 50% stake.
Requests for confirmation from both companies have been made by Just Food.
The Family Butchers said the deal will help secure long-term access to raw materials and restore financial flexibility critical to the company’s survival.
The company described the current market environment as one of “structural overcapacity, increasing production costs, and declining meat consumption.”
The Premium Food Group will continue to supply The Family Butchers with raw materials, though The Family Butchers emphasized that the arrangement does not include exclusivity.
The company said it will continue sourcing from various suppliers to preserve market competition.
According to a 2025 report by the Federal Information Centre for Agriculture (BZL), pork remains Germany’s most consumed meat, but consumption fell by 0.1kg in 2024 to 35.8kg per person.
The report also showed a drop in beef consumption, down 0.1kg to 11.6kg per capita, while poultry saw a 0.7kg increase to 20.6kg per person.
The Premium Food Group rebranded from Tönnies Group in 2025 as part of its broader shift from a meat-only processor to a more diversified food company.
The Tönnies name now only applies to the firm’s meat processing division.
Meanwhile, Germany’s competition authority recently blocked The Premium Food Group’s attempt to acquire meat plant assets from Dutch-owned Vion.
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