Food

Innovative wines, exceptional beers. Hearty, traditional dishes such as pork knuckles, Regensburg sausages, pretzels or cheese spaetzle. Sophisticated fine dining creations from a Michelin-starred chef using local forests and waters: Bavarian delicacies and specialities are beloved components of Bavarian culture.

But food and drink is not only a cultural success factor in the Free State, it is also a real economic one: with annual sales of around 100 billion euros, the agricultural and food industry is one of the strongest sectors in revenue terms and, with over 700,000 jobs, one of the most employment-intensive in the Free State.

Why is the industry so successful? Because, like Bavaria in general, it is traditional, yet different. The seamless integration of time-honoured practices with cutting-edge manufacturing processes and an abundance of pioneering spirit set it apart. This has resulted in great appetite abroad, with Bavarian products generating significant international demand, further enhanced by the protected designation of origin of many items.

When you organise your industry event in Bavaria, not only can you count on expertise and exciting networks, but you can also look forward to excellent food and drink – which, as we all know, is not entirely unimportant for a successful event.

Beer: Business meets culture

The beverage industry is one of the key segments of the Bavarian food industry. This is hardly surprising, as with around 40 different types of beer as well as over 4,000 branded beers, beer is not only a trademark of Bavaria, but also holds the highest economic and cultural significance in this sector. Almost 70 percent of all German beer brands therefore call the Free State home.

Compared to other federal states, Bavaria also has by far the most breweries – there are currently 626 of them and growing. More than a quarter of all breweries are located in Upper Franconia, such as the brewery Gebr. Maisel GmbH & Co. KG in Bayreuth or the organic brewery Riedenburger Brauhaus in Riedenburg. The regions of Upper Bavaria and Swabia also have many well-known breweries, such as the private brewery Erdinger Weißbräu, the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan or the Allgäuer Brauhaus in Kempten. Not to forget the Oktoberfest city of Munich, where traditional ‘big players’ like Paulaner and Löwenbräu, the iconic brand Augustiner, as well as local craft beer labels like Giesinger, brew their beers.

The rich diversity of beer styles is not only based on Bavarians’ love for the golden beverage but also on relentless research and development efforts. These initiatives are pursued, among others, at the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University, the TUM School of Life Sciences and the Steinecker plant from Krones AG, a globally operating company specialising in brewery technology.

However, regional processing and the high quality of the raw materials used are at least as important for the top quality of Bavarian beers. The hops, for example, come from the world-famous Bavarian hop-growing regions of Hallertau and Spalt, home to almost a third of the world’s hop fields! Bavarian breweries are therefore able to draw on a regional source of raw materials of the highest quality.

Germany’s lavishly stocked pantry

Versatility and high-quality raw materials are also defining characteristics of the rest of Bavaria’s food industry. Almost 20 percent of the food industry’s sales in Germany as a whole are generated in Bavaria, where almost every third company in the sector is located. The dairy industry plays the most significant role with sales of 9.8 billion euros, as the typical sight of comfortably grazing cows on Bavarian pastures already suggests.

This is also popular abroad: no other sector in the food industry exports as much as the dairy industry. Bavarian cheese in particular is extremely popular internationally. It's no wonder that the top players in the Bavarian food industry are cheese and dairy companies such as the Edelweiss dairy, the Stegmann Emmentaler cheese dairies, Bauer, Meggle, Alpenhain or the Bergader private cheese dairy.

Incidentally, the Bavarian food trade mainly cooks, bakes, slaughters and presses in decentralised small and medium-sized enterprises. Confectioners, butchers, brewers, wine coopers, maltsters and millers also contribute to the flourishing of the sector.

However, the sector not only produces, but also conducts a great deal of research – especially in view of the increasing demand for organic products. With the help of the BioRegio2030 initiative founded in 2013 by the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, numerous state-recognised organic model regions have been created that are already pioneers in organic farming. They have made a significant contribution to doubling organic food production in Bavaria by 2020.