Bauer Group Launches Plant-Based Dairy Production in Germany
Bauer Group, a prominent German dairy company, has inaugurated a new production and innovation hub dedicated to plant-based dairy alternatives in Wasserburg am Inn, Bavaria. This new facility marks a strategic move to internalize the production of soy-based milk and yoghurt products, previously sourced externally.
The company aims to leverage Germany's robust local infrastructure and raw material supply chain to cater to the increasing demand for plant-based dairy products. By sourcing soybeans from nearby farms, Bauer intends to shorten its supply chain and reduce transportation-related emissions. The company has encouraged its supplier farms to integrate soybean cultivation into their operations.
The technical foundation for this facility was laid by GEA, an engineering giant, which managed the project as a single-source provider. Over a span of 15 months, GEA facilitated the entire process, from raw soybean intake to the production of the finished soy concentrate, which will be used for Bauer's plant-based products.
This project represents GEA's inaugural venture at such a large scale, encompassing various stages such as mixing, grinding, solids separation, thermal inactivation, and storage. Bauer alone will operate the fermentation and filling plant necessary to process the soy base into its final dairy alternative products.
Bauer awarded the contract to GEA in May 2025, with installation activities commencing in January. GEA's teams, including dairy processing experts from Munich and other process test centers, played an instrumental role in concept development and performance analysis.
Bauer CEO Heiko Modell expressed confidence in the facility's potential, emphasizing its significance for Germany's plant-based market leadership. In 2025, the country saw an 8% increase in milk alternatives and a 10% rise in yoghurt alternatives, collectively accounting for 47% of the sector's sales.
GEA has been investing substantially in alternative protein manufacturing, underscoring plant-based food as a strategic growth area. It operates several technology centers in Europe and the US, supporting the development of biomanufacturing applications such as precision fermentation and cell cultivation.
