The end of a sausage era: a traditional brand relocates

Experts: Brands are more than just logos

Will consumers lose their appetite if the "Eberswalder" brand from the East moves? Brand experts are convinced that a traditional brand is more than just a logo and packaging: it stands for origin, history and identity.

"We're actually talking about cultural treasures here, so to speak - things that I grew up with, things that have more or less shaped my everyday life," says Oliver Errichiello, Professor of Brand Sociology at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences in Saxony. He sees a loss of trust for East German brands. This has to do with the fact that "East Germans have now learned that most East German brands are no longer backed by East German companies," says Errichiello.

"Eastern brands were once small, colorful, likeable beacons of goods that showed what was possible in the new federal states, a piece of identity and Eastern pride, but now it's just a case of eat or be eaten," says Errichiello's colleague, brand expert Arnd Zschiesche, on takeovers of East German companies.

The "Eberswalder" brand will also come from Saxony in future

Will the name "Eberswalder" remain just a shell of a word? A spokesperson for the sausage manufacturer in Britz, which was taken over by the Zur-Mühlen Group in 2023, has announced that the brand will be produced at sites in Chemnitz, Suhl and Zerbst in eastern Germany in future. The recipe, which is decisive for the taste, will remain unchanged. The majority of the raw materials, such as the pork, are East German raw materials.

In January, the company stated the reasons for the plant closure: "Unfortunately, we had to realize that there is no realistic perspective under the given economic conditions." The trade union for food, beverages and catering NGG accused the Tönnies Group behind the closure - which operates as the Premium Food Group - of pursuing a "ruthless yield and market adjustment policy". The German meat market is dominated by a few large companies.

Trade union: painful loss

With companies in "family hands" there was usually a different awareness and an emotional connection, but this is visibly dwindling, says Uwe Ledwig, chairman of the eastern district of the NGG. Two weeks before sausage production at Eberswalde comes to an end, trade unionists and employees want to bid farewell to a piece of regional history at a protest action on Saturday at 12.05 pm. "When a long tradition ends, it's a painful loss," they say.

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