What Norma does

Norma Lebensmittelfilialbetrieb Stiftung & Co. KG is a privately held German hard-discount grocery retailer operating under the NORMA banner with over 1,450 stores across Germany, France, Austria, and Czech Republic. The company traces its origin to the 1921 GEORG ROTH family business and opened the first NORMA discount stores in 1964; since 2012 it has been organized under a foundation structure (NORMA Unternehmens Stiftung) intended to secure long-term independence. It is led by a dual Vorstand of Gerd Köber and Winfried Vogt, employs more than 16,000 people from 70 nationalities, and runs an active apprentice pipeline of over 1,800 trainees.

The retail proposition centers on everyday low pricing, a private-label-heavy assortment, and recurring weekly promotions. Sub-brands include BIO SONNE (organic, 17-time Bio-Gesamtsieger at BIOFACH), Fjordkrone (transparent fishery), GUT BARTENHOF (meat), LANDFEIN (dairy), ERNTEKRONE (frozen vegetables), RIVA (ice cream), Caffeciao and RÖSTA (coffee), SAUBERMAX and ELCURINA (cleaning), KING LADY (personal care), and Hyperflon (cookware). Complementary digital and service lines include the NORMA24 e-commerce shop, NORMA Plus mobile app (digital coupons, store locator, loyalty), NORMA Connect MVNO, and NORMA Reisen travel. The operating model is supported by 16 logistics centers, a fleet of nearly 300 modern trucks, and recent sustainability initiatives such as the NexPlus Advanced fully recyclable paper packaging partnership with Koehler Paper and Friessinger Mühle, and an IFCO reusable-crate program that saved 4,175 tons of CO2 in 2025.

Revenue is generated overwhelmingly through high-volume in-store grocery sales at low unit prices, with supplementary e-commerce and adjacent service streams. The company has been named 'Deutschlands Preissieger' by Focus Money for five consecutive years and has won 200 DLG medals (201 gold, 41 silver, 7 bronze) for BIO SONNE products at BIOFACH 2026. Due to its private, foundation-owned status, audited revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, but store count, workforce size, and cross-country footprint place it firmly in the multi-billion-euro revenue tier of European discount grocery operators.

Name

Norma

Legal name

Norma Lebensmittelfilialbetrieb Stiftung & Co. KG

Website

https://norma-online.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Norma is a privately held German hard-discount grocery retailer operating 1,450+ stores in Germany, France, Austria, and the Czech Republic. It serves value-conscious households with private-label food, organic (BIO SONNE), and sustainability-led products under a foundation ownership structure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Discount Grocery Retail

NAICS

Grocery and Convenience Retailers (4451)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411), Retail-Food Stores (5400)

akta.pro primary industry

Hard Discount Private-Label-Led Discounters (CRAEAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hard Discount Grocery with Strong Non-Food / General Merchandise Mix (CRAEAIAH), Hard Discount Organic/Natural Value Discounters (CRAEAIAF)

Keywords

• Discount grocery retail
• Supermarket chain operations
• Private label products
• Online grocery shopping
• Food retail logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Fürth

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Store Sales: Physical retail store operations generating the majority of revenue through direct consumer sales of food and consumer goods across over 1,450 store locations in Germany, France, Austria, and Czech Republic.
2. E-commerce (NORMA24): Online shopping platform enabling customers to purchase groceries and have them delivered, complementing the physical store network.
3. Private Label Products: Sale of private label brands including BIO SONNE (organic), Fjordkrone (fish), and various other proprietary brands, offering higher margin products to consumers.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NORMA operates a discount grocery retail business selling food and everyday consumer goods across more than 1,450 stores in Germany, France, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The assortment centers on an extensive private-label portfolio (BIO SONNE organic, Fjordkrone fish, GUT BARTENHOF meat, LANDFEIN dairy, ERNTEKRONE frozen vegetables, RIVA ice cream, SAUBERMAX/ELCURINA cleaning, plus non-food labels like KING LADY, VILLA GUSTO, Hyperflon, Toptex Pro, Dreamtex, Ortho-Vital) at everyday-low prices, supplemented by weekly promotional reductions of 10–23% across categories and a regional product selection.

Product overview

NORMA is a German food discount retailer operating over 1,450 stores across Germany, France, Austria, and Czech Republic. The company offers a private-label focused product portfolio organized around multiple sub-brands: BIO SONNE (organic), Fjordkrone (seafood with traceability), and Caffeciao (coffee), alongside fresh meat brand GUT BARTENHOF, dairy brand LANDFEIN, and frozen foods including RIVA ice cream and ERNTEKRONE vegetables. Non-food private labels include SAUBERMAX and ELCURINA (cleaning), KING LADY (personal care), and Hyperflon (cookware). Digital offerings include NORMA24 online shop, NORMA Plus mobile app with store locator, coupon, and loyalty features, and NORMA Connect mobile virtual network service. The company emphasizes sustainability with recyclable packaging initiatives and organic product expansion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BIO SONNE: Private label organic/bio product line with state-certified organic seal, awarded DLG medals including 201 gold medals at BIOFACH 2026
• Fjordkrone
• ERNTEKRONE
• LANDFEIN
• GUT BARTENHOF
• LECKERROM
• CREMISEE
• EXCELSIOR
• RÖSTA
• CAFFECIAO
• RIVA
• THE HOUSE OF RICE
• FEINE PRISE
• PFIFF
• ARDILLA
• SAUBERMAX
• ELCURINA
• KING LADY
• VILLA GUSTO
• VILLA GUSTO
• Dreamtex
• Ortho-Vital
• Hyperflon
• Toptex Pro
• Ellenor
• Doppstadt
• Flying Goose Brand
• Arla
• NORMA Plus App

Products and services

• NORMA24 Online Shop E-commerce platform enabling customers to shop NORMA's grocery assortment digitally for home delivery, complementing the physical store footprint.
• NORMA Plus App Mobile app delivering store locator, digital coupons, shopping list, push-notification offers, and digital loyalty ID to NORMA shoppers.
• NORMA Connect Mobile virtual network operator service offering NORMA-branded smartphone tariffs with various data, voice, and SMS packages via a partnership with Telekom Deutschland Multibrand GmbH.
• NORMA Reisen Discount travel booking service offering vacation packages (sun, beach, and sea travel) to NORMA customers.
• BIO SONNE (organic private-label product line) NORMA's exclusive certified organic (German Bio-Siegel) private-label range spanning cereals, produce, wines, and prepared foods, sold across stores and online; 17-time Bio-Gesamtsieger at BIOFACH/DLG.
• Fjordkrone (traceable fish private-label line) NORMA's private-label seafood brand featuring the first German-discounter transparent fishery traceability system, with packaging encoding catch date for back-tracing.
• Vegan assortment (300+ product range) Cross-category vegan assortment of 300+ plant-based alternatives carrying V-Label certification, expanded during Veganuary 2026.
• NexPlus Advanced recyclable paper packaging (dry cream & rice pudding) Fully recyclable paper pouch packaging (water-based dispersion coating; grease and mineral-oil-hydrocarbon barrier) rolled out for NORMA's private-label dry cream of wheat and rice pudding products, replacing prior paper-plastic-aluminum composites.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,175 tons CO2 saved through IFCO reusable transport crates in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IFCOcoreTechnology or Integration · 27 February 2026IFCO provides reusable transport crates (Mehrwegsteigen) for NORMA's supply chain. Partnership resulted in saving over 4,175 tons of CO2 in 2025 through resource-saving transport packaging.
• Koehler PapercoreTechnology or Integration · 19 January 2026Koehler Paper provides NexPlus Advanced barrier paper for NORMA's private-label dry cream and rice pudding products. This water-based dispersion coating technology replaces previous paper composite containing plastic and aluminum, enabling fully recyclable paper pouches while maintaining necessary barriers against grease and mineral oil hydrocarbons.
• Friessinger MühlecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2026German grain-based food manufacturer that produces and supplies NORMA's private-label dry cream of wheat and rice pudding products. Collaborated with Koehler Paper to implement the new recyclable paper packaging solution.
• Sovendus GmbHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSovendus provides coupon offers displayed to customers after order completion in NORMA24 online shop. Handles pseudonymized data including email hash, IP address, order number, and order value.
• DHL, DPD, UPScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorShipping and logistics partners for order delivery from NORMA24 online shop. For freight deliveries, additional contact details may be shared for delivery scheduling.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Rewe Group: Rewe is a leading German supermarket chain and the parent of Penny, competing with NORMA on full-line grocery and through its discount subsidiary. Overlaps with NORMA on private label, fresh produce, and promotional campaigns in Germany and Austria.
• Edeka: Edeka is Germany's largest supermarket cooperative and competes with NORMA across grocery categories in Germany. As a broad incumbent, it offers a wider assortment but overlaps with NORMA on essentials, private label, and weekly promotional pricing.
• Kaufland: Kaufland, sister company to Lidl within the Schwarz Group, operates hypermarkets across Germany, Czech Republic, and other European markets overlapping NORMA's footprint. While broader in assortment than NORMA, it competes on price and increasingly on private label.

Direct peers

• Aldi: Aldi (Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd) is the largest hard discount grocer globally and NORMA's most direct competitor in Germany, Austria, France, and Czech Republic. Both operate limited-assortment discount stores with strong private label penetration and an everyday-low-price positioning.
• Netto Marken-Discount: Netto Marken-Discount is the hard discount subsidiary of Edeka, directly competing with NORMA in Germany with a similar limited-assortment, private-label-led store model. Comparable on price positioning, store size, and core grocery assortment.
• Lidl: Lidl, part of the Schwarz Group, is a hard discount grocer competing head-to-head with NORMA across Germany, Austria, France, and Czech Republic. Lidl operates a similar private-label-led discount model with comparable store formats, fresh produce emphasis, and weekly promotional cycles.
• Penny Markt: Penny is the discount arm of the Rewe Group and a direct competitor to NORMA in Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic. It operates a similar limited-assortment discount model with private label brands and weekly promotional pricing.

Regional players

• Carrefour: Carrefour is the leading French hypermarket and supermarket operator, competing with NORMA in France through Carrefour Market and discount formats. Comparable in product breadth but a broader incumbent rather than a hard discounter.

Emerging players

• Action (Action Retail): Action is a fast-growing European non-food discounter that has expanded into basic food items; it increasingly overlaps with NORMA's non-food private label assortment (cleaning, personal care, household goods) across Germany and other European markets.
• Woolworth (German variety stores): Woolworth operates German variety discount stores selling a mix of household goods, food basics, and seasonal merchandise at low prices. While narrower than NORMA, it competes on non-food essentials and price positioning in overlapping German geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/norma-lebensmittelfilialbetrieb-gmbh

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Norma