HYDERABAD: Since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, a boon has been witnessed in the online direct-to-customer meat delivery supplies in India. The availability of numerous items under one roof, with doorstep services, and worries about assurance of safety and hygiene, according to recent reports, drove a dramatic increase in the purchase of meat online.
Meisterwurst, an authentic German sausage manufacturer that offers premium pork/chicken products brings the fresh authentic flavours of Germany to India with top-quality processed meats. The brainchild of Arthur Maurer, a German with a passion for German foods and a love of the Indian people, believes one doesn’t need an occasion or festival to enjoy the very best of German treats like pretzels, sauerkraut, and schnitzels. CE speaks to Arthur Maurer about how Hyderabad is a market, art of sausage making and more.
What brought you to India initially?
We began our journey to introduce first-rate processed meat products. Products that could only be obtained through expensive imports. The secret was to manufacture them in India! We recognised that India is incredibly diverse and that we wanted to customise the taste to each region. To provide our consumers with the best offline shopping experience possible, we created deli counter stores similar to those found in Germany, France, and Switzerland.
What are the products that sell the most?
Leberkase (meat loafs), frankfurters, bacons, pepperoni and cold cuts.
How is Hyderabad as a market?
Hyderabad is a rapidly expanding market with significant demand for high-quality prepared dishes. It has also seen a recent increase in demand for processed goods. And, in order to meet rising demand, merchants and home delivery services need reputable suppliers. In Hyderabad, the market for processed meat products is massive and growing at a rate of 9-10% per year. Meisterwurst is one such brand that caters to this demand and supply by distributing high-quality processed German sausages throughout India, including recently expanded markets in Hyderabad. We intend to provide high-quality culinary products in Hyderabad that are tailored to the local palate.
Take us through the phases of the processed meat segment.
Sausage making is an art, and German sausage making has a long tradition. There are hundreds of different sausages, and they are differentiated by the method of production (cooking/boiling, smoking, fermentation, drying) as well as the type of meat used and the proportion of meat used in making sausage. The spice that is added to the banger gives it its uniqueness.
Future plans.
We are shifting towards e-commerce and focusing on B2B retail with large, carefully selected companies. Our focus with Meisterwurst is on brand building, with the brand being driven by Omni channel possibilities. We have taken our brand to a greater level in the last year than we did when we first started. People are becoming aware of the brand and its emphasis on high-quality products. It’s a decent accomplishment, in my opinion. We enhanced our social media presence by driving campaigns with advanced AI-based analytics. We have also expanded our physical presence in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Pune, among other cities.