Brand Qualitätsfleisch

Brand Qualitätsfleisch GmbH & Co. KG is a German meat-industry company headquartered in Lohne (Oldenburg) in Lower Saxony, where it operates a pig slaughterhouse. The business traces its roots to a family meat company founded in Lohne in 1930 by Paul Brand the elder; the current company was established in 1955 by his son, Paul Brand the younger, as Paul Brand Fleischgroßhandel OHG. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brand Holding GmbH, also based in Lohne, and is managed through its general partner Brand Qualitätsfleisch Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, whose managing directors are Nikolaus Brand and Jürgen Wehenpohl. The company specializes in slaughtering pigs, especially fattening pigs. Most animals are conventionally raised, but pigs from designated husbandry programs such as Naturland and Bioland are also processed. In 2023 the company slaughtered 731,327 pigs, of which 662,025 were own-slaughter and 69,302 were contract (Lohn) slaughter. Related activities include purchasing live animals, selling pig halves, and producing meat products through cutting and deboning. It also sells by-products and waste from slaughter and cutting. A large share of its workforce comes from Eastern Europe. Brand Qualitätsfleisch was one of the first dispatch slaughterhouses in Lower Saxony and one of the first German operations to receive an export license for China. In 1989 it became the first slaughterhouse in Lower Saxony to introduce CO2 as a stunning medium, a method for which it has been criticized by animal-welfare and animal-rights organizations. In Germany its customers have included The Family Butchers, Edeka, and Volkswagen AG (for its Volkswagen currywurst). It also exports to many third countries; after a new cutting plant opened in 2019, the share of exports to non-EU countries rose above 30 percent, with China an important sales market. In 2023 the company reported revenue of 200 million euros, double the 2020 figure. The company has been the subject of controversy over CO2 stunning. In spring 2024 the animal-rights organization Animal Rights Watch (ARIWA) made what were reported as the first recordings in Germany of a paternoster stunning system in operation, using hidden cameras and microphones installed in the Lohne slaughterhouse. The footage was published in summer 2024 by ARIWA and by the ARD business magazine plusminus, which reported that stunning took up to 90 seconds, during which the animals screamed and experienced panic. Hesse's animal-welfare commissioner Madeleine Martin called the recorded treatment "high-grade animal cruelty." The European Food Safety Authority has repeatedly found that the method used at Brand causes breathing distress, fear, and pain in pigs. A managing director of Brand rejected the allegations, saying the company strictly complies with all legal requirements and describing CO2 stunning as gentle. Two ARIWA activists detained by police in May 2024 faced criminal proceedings for trespassing, and the company also sued them civilly for reputational damage, seeking 98,000 euros in damages and a ban on further distribution of the recordings. The company is represented by lawyer Walter Scheuerl. The presiding judge said the case could run for years up to the Federal Constitutional Court and make legal history; the activists described it as a SLAPP suit intended to intimidate them through high damages, procedural, and legal costs. Brand Qualitätsfleisch is a member of the business associations Verband der Fleischwirtschaft e.V., Agrar- und Ernährungsforum Nord-West e.V., and LAND.SCHAFFT.WERTE. e.V. The company markets itself under the brand "brand®" with the slogan "Qualität aus Verantwortung" (quality from responsibility), emphasizing transparency, animal welfare, environmental awareness, and long-term partnerships along the value chain.

The Brand family's meat-industry roots in Lohne (Oldenburg) go back to 1930, when Paul Brand the elder founded a meat company there. His son, Paul Brand the younger, took over the management of that predecessor company in 1945. In 1955 Paul Brand the younger founded Paul Brand Fleischgroßhandel OHG in Lohne, the company from which today's Brand Qualitätsfleisch descends. The company's own account states that it has combined craft roots with technological progress for four generations and that it was founded in 1930, treating the family's earlier Lohne meat business as its origin. In 1968 the company built a new slaughterhouse, equipped for the first time with a conveyor-line slaughtering system (Bandschlachtung). In 1979 management passed to the third generation; the founder's grandson also bears the name Paul Brand. In 1983 the company entered a cooperation with Schmitz GmbH, which from then on carried out cutting at the Lohne slaughterhouse. In 1989 the company became the first slaughterhouse in Lower Saxony to introduce CO2 as a stunning medium, a step that later became central to criticism of the company. In 1998 the company put a new slaughterhouse building into operation and reorganized as Brand Qualitätsfleisch GmbH & Co. In 2003 it converted to its current legal form, GmbH & Co. KG. In 2019 Brand Qualitätsfleisch ended its cooperation with Schmitz GmbH and took over cutting itself; a new cutting plant was commissioned that year, and the share of exports to non-EU countries rose above 30 percent. From 2020 the company was affected by import stops on pork by several Asian countries because of the spread of African swine fever in Europe. Also in 2020, Nikolaus Brand, great-grandson of the founder, joined the management. Paul Brand III left management in 2025; he had chaired the industry association Verband der Fleischwirtschaft from 2007 to 2019. In 2023 the company slaughtered 731,327 pigs, of which 662,025 were own-slaughter and 69,302 were contract slaughter, and reported revenue of 200 million euros, double the 2020 figure. In spring 2024 the animal-rights organization Animal Rights Watch (ARIWA) installed hidden cameras and microphones in the Lohne slaughterhouse and made what were reported as the first recordings in Germany of a paternoster stunning system in operation. The footage was published in summer 2024 by ARIWA and by the ARD business magazine plusminus, which reported that stunning took up to 90 seconds, during which the animals screamed and experienced panic. Hesse's animal-welfare commissioner Madeleine Martin called the recorded treatment "high-grade animal cruelty," and the European Food Safety Authority has repeatedly found that the method used at Brand causes breathing distress, fear, and pain in pigs. A managing director of Brand rejected the allegations, saying the company strictly complies with all legal requirements and describing CO2 stunning as gentle. Two ARIWA activists detained by police in May 2024 faced criminal proceedings for trespassing, and the company also sued them civilly for reputational damage, seeking 98,000 euros in damages and a ban on further distribution of the recordings. The company is represented by lawyer Walter Scheuerl. The presiding judge said the case could run for years up to the Federal Constitutional Court and make legal history; the activists described it as a SLAPP suit intended to intimidate them through high damages, procedural, and legal costs. The company is a member of the business associations Verband der Fleischwirtschaft e.V., Agrar- und Ernährungsforum Nord-West e.V., and LAND.SCHAFFT.WERTE. e.V. It markets itself under the brand "brand®" with the slogan "Qualität aus Verantwortung" (quality from responsibility), presenting transparency, animal welfare, environmental awareness, and long-term partnerships as central to its identity.

• 2025

  Paul Brand III leaves management.

• 2024

  ARIWA hidden-camera footage of CO2 paternoster stunning published; company sues activists for reputational damage.

• 2023

  Slaughtered 731,327 pigs and reported revenue of 200 million euros, double the 2020 figure.

• 2020

  Nikolaus Brand joins management; company affected by Asian import stops due to African swine fever.

• 2019

  Ends cooperation with Schmitz GmbH and takes over cutting itself; new cutting plant commissioned; non-EU export share rises above 30 percent.

• 2003

  Converted to current legal form GmbH & Co. KG.

• 1998

  New slaughterhouse building commissioned; company reorganized as Brand Qualitätsfleisch GmbH & Co.

• 1989

  First slaughterhouse in Lower Saxony to introduce CO2 as a stunning medium.

• 1983

  Cooperation begins with Schmitz GmbH, which carries out cutting at the Lohne slaughterhouse.

• 1979

  Management passes to the third generation.

• 1968

  New slaughterhouse built, equipped for the first time with conveyor-line slaughtering.

• 1955

  Paul Brand the younger founds Paul Brand Fleischgroßhandel OHG in Lohne.

• 1945

  Paul Brand the younger takes over management of the predecessor company.

• 1930

  Paul Brand the elder founds a meat company in Lohne, the family's predecessor business.

Family-owned, fourth-generation German pork slaughterhouse positioning itself under the brand "brand®" with the slogan "Qualität aus Verantwortung" (quality from responsibility), emphasizing transparency, animal welfare, environmental awareness, technological leadership, and long-term partnerships along the value chain.

• Pig slaughtering (especially fattening pigs)

  Core activity; 731,327 pigs slaughtered in 2023, of which 662,025 own-slaughter and 69,302 contract slaughter.

• Pork halves

  Sold as part of slaughter-related trading activities.

• Meat products from cutting and deboning

  Produced through cutting and deboning, including at the cutting plant opened in 2019.

• By-products and waste from slaughter and cutting

  Sold as part of the company's operations.

• Contract slaughter (Lohnschlachtung)

  69,302 pigs slaughtered on a contract basis in 2023.

1. 1Brand® Qualitätsfleisch – Qualität aus Verantwortungbrand-lohne.de
2. 2Unternehmen - Brand® Qualitätsfleisch Lohnebrand-lohne.de
3. 3Brand Qualitätsfleisch – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
4. 4Brand Qualitätsfleisch – Wikidatawikidata.org