Trinks

What Trinks does

Trinks is a leading German B2B beverage logistics provider operating 16 distribution centers nationwide with approximately 660,000 m² of warehouse space and a delivery network reaching roughly 10,000 delivery points. The company offers comprehensive beverage logistics — storage, handling, inventory management, and direct delivery — across approximately 17,000 full goods articles and 4,000 service articles spanning beer, mineral water, soft drinks, wine, and spirits. Trinks also markets a portfolio of approximately 43 own-brand SKUs including mineral water (Aqua Bavaria, Aqua Star, Germania Brunnen, St. Matthias), soft drinks (Hubauer), and regional beers (Eine Bayern Halbe, Sachsen-Siegel, Bayrisch Hell & Hefeweizen). The customer base is anchored by the REWE Group — a 50% shareholder since December 2023 and one of Germany's largest food retailers — alongside producer-shareholders Bitburger Braugruppe, Krombacher, and Warsteiner, who together hold the remaining 50%.

The company's technology stack centers on the RELEX Solutions AI-driven supply chain optimization platform, which provides integrated demand forecasting, inventory planning, and channel-specific allocation for approximately 2,000 returnable beverage products, incorporating weather and regional event data to improve forecast accuracy. Supporting systems include electronic delivery notes (elektronischer Lieferschein) and the NetDiver customer portal for order management, statistics, and reporting. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified and holds EU organic handling certification, supporting both regulated food-grade logistics and a sustainability/ESG narrative including LED-driven CO2 reductions.

Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-based beverage logistics services (warehousing, handling, delivery) with secondary revenue from branded beverage product sales. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Distribution is exclusively single-country, direct-to-customer delivery from the 16 distribution centers using a company-operated fleet, with a sales-led, relationship-based B2B go-to-market targeting the retail trade, beverage producers, and supply partners. The Trinks Group consists of Trinks GmbH (HQ Hennef) and the wholly-owned Trinks Süd GmbH (HQ Fürstenfeldbruck), serving southern Germany.

Name

Trinks

Legal name

Trinks GmbH

Website

https://trinks.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Trinks is a leading German B2B beverage logistics provider operating 16 distribution centers nationwide, serving roughly 10,000 delivery points including the REWE Group and major German breweries with storage, delivery, and inventory management across beer, water, soft drinks, and spirits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beverage Distribution and Logistics Services

NAICS

Beer, Wine, and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (4248)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Bar & Beverage Service Supplies Wholesale (AFAIALAG)

Keywords

• Beverage logistics
• Beverage distribution
• Mineral water supply
• Beer distribution
• Soft drink wholesale

Headquarters

HQ city

Goslar

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices18 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Beverage logistics services: Core business providing comprehensive beverage logistics including storage, handling, and delivery of approximately 17,000 full goods articles and 4,000 service articles across 16 distribution centers.
2. Beverage product sales: Sale of proprietary branded beverages including mineral water (Aqua Bavaria, Aqua Star, Germania Brunnen, St. Matthias), soft drinks (Hubauer), and beers (Eine Bayern Halbe, Sachsen-Siegel).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Trinks is a leading German B2B beverage logistics provider that stores, handles, and delivers approximately 17,000 full goods articles and 4,000 service articles (beer, mineral water, soft drinks, wine, spirits) to retailers, producers, and supply partners through 16 nationwide distribution centers. The company also distributes its own portfolio of 43 own-brand beverage articles including mineral water, soft drinks, and beer brands.

Product overview

Trinks is a leading German beverage logistics provider with over 285 years of experience, operating 16 distribution centers nationwide. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of approximately 17,000 full goods articles and 4,000 service articles across beer, mineral water, soft drinks, juices, and wine & spirits. Trinks' own-brand portfolio includes mineral water brands (Aqua Bavaria, Aqua Star, Germania Brunnen, St. Matthias), soft drink brand (Hubauer), beer brands (Eine Bayern Halbe, Hubauer Bier, Sachsen-Siegel, Bayrisch Hell & Hefeweizen), totaling 43 own-brand articles. The company provides integrated beverage logistics including electronic delivery documentation, inventory management, and customer portal access, serving retail, producers, and supply partners across Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aqua Bavaria: Mineral water brand
• Aqua Star
• Germania Brunnen
• St. Matthias Quelle
• Hubauer
• Eine Bayern Halbe
• Bayrisch Hell & Hefeweizen
• Sachsen-Siegel

Products and services

• Beverage Logistics Services Comprehensive B2B beverage logistics service for retailers, producers, and supply partners across Germany. Includes storage, handling, and delivery of approximately 17,000 full goods articles and 4,000 service articles (beer, mineral water, soft drinks, wine, and spirits) from 16 nationwide distribution centers to approximately 10,000 delivery points, with needs-based delivery frequency, inventory management, and coordinated empty bottle collection.
• Trinks Own-Brand Beverage Portfolio Portfolio of 43 own-brand beverage articles distributed through Trinks' logistics network, comprising mineral water brands (Aqua Bavaria, Aqua Star, Germania Brunnen, St. Matthias), soft drinks and juices (Hubauer range including Zitronen-Limonade, Apfelschorle, ISO Fit, Orangen-Limonade, Johannisbeer-Spritzz, Blutorange, Cola-Mix, ACE), and beer brands (Eine Bayern Halbe with Urhell/Export/Pils/Hefe-Weißbier/Radler variants, Bayrisch Hell & Hefeweizen, Hubauer Bier, and the regional Saxon brand Sachsen-Siegel).
• Hubauer Soft Drinks and Juices Own-brand line of soft drinks, spritzers, and fruit juices sold in 20x0.5L format, including Zitronen-Limonade, Apfelschorle, ISO Fit, Orangen-Limonade, Johannisbeer-Spritzz, Blutorange, Cola-Mix, and ACE variants. Distributed via Trinks' own logistics network.

Quantifiable outcome

• Improved forecast accuracy through AI-driven demand forecasting
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RELEX SolutionscoreTechnology or IntegrationRELEX Solutions provides AI-driven supply chain optimization platform for Trinks across its network of 16 distribution centers. The platform enables integrated demand forecasting, inventory planning, and channel-specific allocation for approximately 2,000 returnable beverage products.
• WysuppminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWysupp serves as the implementation partner working with RELEX Solutions to deploy the supply chain optimization platform at Trinks.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nordgetränke: Cooperative beverage wholesaler serving northern Germany with a multi-category beverage assortment and depot-based delivery to retail and foodservice customers. Directly comparable to Trinks in wholesale structure, regional DC model, and dependence on brewery-supplier relationships.
• GVS Großverbraucher-Spezialisten: German foodservice and beverage distributor serving bulk consumers (canteens, hotels, system gastronomy) with a beverage-heavy assortment. Comparable to Trinks on B2B distribution mechanics and depot logistics, though its primary channel is foodservice rather than trade retail.
• Getränke Essmann: Privately held German beverage wholesaler operating a multi-category assortment (beer, water, soft drinks, wine, spirits) with a regional logistics network. Closely comparable to Trinks in business model, product mix, and customer base of food retailers and foodservice operators across Germany.
• Getränke Hoffmann: German beverage retail/wholesale hybrid chain with depots and own-brand assortment across beer, wine, water, and soft drinks. Comparable to Trinks on assortment breadth, own-brand strategy, and depot-based distribution, though more retail-facing than Trinks' pure B2B wholesale model.
• Lekkerland: Wholesale distributor of beverages, tobacco, and convenience goods to retail and foodservice across Germany and Western Europe, owned by REWE Group. A direct peer given overlapping beverage distribution activities and the shared REWE ownership link, though Lekkerland's portfolio extends beyond beverages into tobacco and convenience.

Others

• CHEP: Global pooling and logistics services provider for the beverage and consumer goods supply chain, including returnable pallets and containers. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor, but provides infrastructure that interacts with Trinks' reverse-logistics operations.

Broad incumbents

• METRO AG: Germany-headquartered international cash & carry and foodservice distribution group with a large beverage assortment. Comparable as a broad-line wholesale incumbent with scale advantages, though beverage is only one category within METRO's wider HoReCa and trader customer base.
• SELGROS Cash & Carry: German cash-and-carry wholesaler (METRO subsidiary) operating a deep beverage assortment for trade and foodservice buyers. Comparable as a broad-line distributor with overlapping beverage SKUs, though channels are pickup-driven rather than depot-delivered like Trinks.
• Transgourmet: German foodservice wholesaler owned by REWE Group, serving hotels, restaurants, and caterers with multi-category assortments including beverages. A relevant comparable given shared REWE ownership and overlapping B2B logistics capabilities, though focused on foodservice rather than retail trade.

Emerging players

• Flaschenpost: German online beverage delivery platform owned by Dr. Oetker, offering multi-category beverages direct to consumers via regional hubs. Emerging channel-shaping competitor whose DTC model could cannibalize traditional retail beverage volumes that flow through Trinks' trade customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Trinks