What Rothkotter Unternehmensgruppe does

Rothkötter Unternehmensgruppe is a family-owned, vertically integrated German poultry and compound feed producer headquartered in Meppen-Versen, Lower Saxony. Founded in 1959 by Franz Rothkötter as an agricultural feed trader, the group now operates approximately 4,500 employees across seven production sites in northern Germany and reports annual revenue of approximately €1.5 billion. Its operating subsidiaries span the full value chain: Rothkötter Mischfutterwerk (three compound feed mills in Meppen-Versen, Haren-Eurohafen, and Boizenburg producing over 1,000,000 tonnes of pig and poultry feed per year), Emsland Brüterei (hatchery in Dohren producing day-old chicks), Emsland Frischgeflügel (slaughterhouse in Haren, operational since 2003 with a second production line added 2007), Celler Land Frischgeflügel (slaughterhouse in Wietze, commissioned September 2011), and Emsland Convenience (further-processing plant in Börger, opened early 2023). Sales channels include the wholly-owned distribution company Landgeflügel serving B2B customers via an in-house fleet of roughly 200 refrigerated trucks, the in-house Rothkötter truck workshop, and direct-to-consumer Geflügel-SHOP factory outlets in Haren and Wietze plus 24/7 vending machines. Adjacent operations include the Agrar-Planung Emsland agricultural planning service and the Küken & Friends company daycare.

The group's core technology is a fully integrated production platform combining compound feed formulation, automated hatchery systems with temperature/humidity/air-exchange control, modern slaughter and cutting facilities, and refrigerated fleet distribution with dedicated workshop support. Quality control is maintained across all stages from parent bird breeding through to the finished packaged product, with continuous monitoring by official, external, and internal inspection bodies. Logistics is anchored by the Landgeflügel distribution subsidiary and the company's own fleet of approximately 200 tractor units and trailers, supported by a rail connection at the Eurohafen feed plant and inland water access at Haren.

Commercially, Rothkötter operates a B2B sales-led model supplying fresh and frozen chicken meat to German food retailers, wholesale trade, and industrial processors (including pet food manufacturers), alongside compound feed to pig and poultry farmers and day-old chicks to external poultry producers. Pricing is not publicly disclosed for B2B transactions, while factory outlets publish retail prices. Revenue mechanics are transaction-based across all streams: compound feed, chicken meat, day-old chicks, direct consumer sales, and ancillary agricultural planning services. The group remains under family ownership, with Franz-Josef Rothkötter and Jan-Niklas Rothkötter serving as managing directors alongside Klaus Geerdes and Christian Emthaus; no external investors or public-market activity is indicated.

Name

Rothkotter Unternehmensgruppe

Legal name

Rothkötter Mischfutterwerk GmbH

Website

https://rothkoetter.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Rothkötter Unternehmensgruppe is a family-owned German poultry group that operates a fully vertically integrated value chain from compound feed and hatchery through chicken slaughtering and convenience processing, supplying food retailers, industrial processors, and agricultural customers with ~€1.5B in annual revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Meppen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Compound Feed Production: Production of pig and chicken compound feed for breeding and fattening. Three production facilities produce over 1,000,000 tonnes annually, delivered by own fleet.
2. Chicken Meat Products: Production and sale of fresh and frozen chicken meat products through Emsland Frischgeflügel and Celler Land Frischgeflügel, distributed by Landgeflügel to food retail and industrial customers.
3. Day-Old Chicks: Hatching egg production and day-old chick supply through Emsland Brüterei for internal use and external sales to poultry farmers.
4. Direct Consumer Sales: Factory outlet shops (Geflügel-SHOPs) in Haren and Wietze selling fresh chicken products directly to consumers.
5. Agricultural Planning Services: Agrar-Planung Emsland provides agricultural planning services for poultry farm construction, expansion, and conversion projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rothkötter Unternehmensgruppe is a vertically integrated German poultry and feed producer. It manufactures compound feed for pigs and chickens across three feed mills (over 1,000,000 tonnes annually), hatches day-old chicks, and processes fresh and frozen chicken meat at two slaughter and cutting facilities, distributing the products through its own sales and logistics arm and direct-to-consumer factory outlets.

Product overview

Rothkotter Unternehmensgruppe is a family-owned food and feed production group founded in 1959, operating a vertically integrated poultry supply chain. The group encompasses three core business areas: (1) Compound feed production through Rothkotter Mischfutterwerk with three facilities producing over 1,000,000 tonnes annually; (2) Poultry meat production including Emsland Frischgeflugel and Celler Land Frischgeflugel slaughterhouses, Emsland Bruderer hatchery, and Emsland Convenience processing; (3) Distribution via Landgeflugel and retail through Geflugel-SHOP factory outlets. Supporting services include an in-house truck workshop and Agrar-Planung Emsland agricultural consulting. The group employs approximately 4,500 people across seven production sites in northern Germany with annual sales of approximately 1.5 billion euros.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rothkötter Mischfutterwerk Compound Feed Compound feed for pig and chicken breeding and fattening, produced at three feed mills in Meppen-Versen, Haren-Eurohafen and Boizenburg with combined annual capacity exceeding 1,000,000 tonnes, delivered to agricultural customers via own fleet.
• Emsland Frischgeflügel Chicken Processing Chicken slaughtering and cutting plant in Haren producing fresh chicken parts (wings to fillets) for food retail and industrial processing customers; around 2,500 employees in full-time shifts.
• Celler Land Frischgeflügel Chicken Processing

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000,000 tonnes of compound feed produced annually across three facilities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tönnies: German family-owned meat major primarily focused on pork and beef but with growing poultry and convenience operations. Comparable on family ownership, German production footprint, and retail channel relationships.
• Danish Crown: Danish farmer-owned meat major with significant poultry, pork, and processed meat operations across Northern Europe. Comparable on cooperative-driven supply, slaughter scale, and multi-species meat processing.
• Moy Park: UK- and Europe-based integrated poultry producer owned by Pilgrim's Pride, supplying retail and foodservice with fresh and prepared chicken. Comparable on vertical integration and processed/convenience product mix.
• Cargill Protein Europe: Global agribusiness with significant European poultry and animal nutrition operations, including compound feed and processed poultry. Comparable on feed milling scale and poultry supply chain integration, though far broader in scope.

Direct peers

• PHW Group (Wiesenhof): Germany's largest poultry producer with integrated feed-to-processing operations, including the Wiesenhof brand. Most directly comparable to Rothkötter on geography, vertical integration, and customer channels (German food retail).
• Plukon Food Group: Netherlands-based European poultry processor with multiple slaughter and further-processing plants across Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and other EU countries. Direct competitor in fresh and processed chicken for European retail and foodservice.
• Müller Fleisch: German family-owned slaughter and processing company supplying fresh beef, pork, and poultry to German food retail. Direct overlap with Rothkötter on German retail customers and integrated fresh-meat operations.
• Heidemark: German poultry processor producing fresh chicken and turkey products for retail and foodservice, with its own slaughter and processing facilities in Lower Saxony. Overlaps with Rothkötter on product mix and German retail channel exposure.
• 2 Sisters Food Group: UK-based large-scale poultry, meat, and ready-meal processor supplying major UK and European retailers. Comparable on integrated poultry processing, retail-channel concentration, and value-added product mix.

Others

• Aviagen: Global poultry breeding company supplying broiler and turkey genetics to integrated producers. Relevant as a supplier of parent stock to vertically integrated poultry groups like Rothkötter, but not a downstream competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rothkotter Unternehmensgruppe