At the beginning I have to admit it right away – I am a true meat lover. Basically, I love almost every kind of meat, whether beef, pork, lamb, game, poultry or even fish – everything has its charm for me.
The reason for this is certainly that I grew up in Berlin Lichterfelde in my grandfather’s butcher’s shop, so to speak – every morning there was fresh Prague & roast pork there – of course with a crispy, still warm crust – and of course every morning there was a little bit missing for the sale – where did that go? I often disappeared into the cold store to nibble on the fresh Viennese sausages straight from the brine, but that didn’t remain a secret for too long.
When my grandfather, who grew up in Silesia, returned home from the war, he had only the clothes he had on his body, a handful of Reichsmark in his pocket and a young bull on his shoulder. This was the basis for his later business model – a down-to-earth quality butchery where everything was made by master craftsmen.
For many years he was the head master of the Berlin butchers’ guild and initiated me into the lure of animal proteins at a very early stage – in the form of a school enrolment bag filled only with various sausages.
I find it regrettable that the classic butcher’s shops, such as the one in the style of my grandfather’s butchery, are hardly to be found anymore. This makes it all the more important to me, even if meat & sausage products are produced and sold in large quantities, this is done under the best conditions, with a craftsman’s point of view & skill.
This begins not only nowadays with the animal welfare in the breeding and keeping. Only animals that have been raised and kept according to ethical principles and with respect, but also slaughtered without suffering, should end up on our plates and remain something special.
Unfortunately, this is not the case in many places, but organisations such as the Animal Welfare Initiative, the many organic producers such as BIOPark Markt or the Rauch family with R&S contribute to the continuous improvement of procedures among farmers, producers and processing companies.
Let’s just get to the company names: The “R&S Distribution GmbH” – in the following briefly called “R&S” – has been existing for more than 30 years. Among other things, it emerged from Albert Rauch GmbH, which was founded in 1964. Albert Rauch GmbH itself has been successfully selling meat and sausage products in Germany for over 55 years.
The R&S sales group was formed in 1988 from the merger of Albert Rauch GmbH with Baden-Württembergische Fleigro GmbH and the Oberland Meat-Distribution GmbH from Holzkirchen near Munich in Bavaria. R&S stands for “Rauch und Süddeutsche Partner” and is thus able to ensure national distribution. R&S has specialised particular in the marketing of meat and sausage products from other European countries within Germany.
At R&S, the well-known and experienced master butcher, product scout and meat sommelier Dirk Bussmann always takes his time to personally visit all the farmers, cattle breeders and meat processors on site. This is what he does when it comes to entering into new partnerships, but also to ensure himself again and again of the local conditions. This is the golden way in the interest of the customer and quality assurance.
With the blog Gourmet Scouts and the YouTube channel of the same name, the Rauch family and meat sommelier Dirk Bussmann have created a great platform to introduce to end customers in particular the brands distributed exclusively by R&S. Lent and filmed in a friendly, shirt-sleeved manner, one almost has the feeling of sitting at the table. You can see the meadows and stables where the animals are raised, you are present at the interview with the farmers and cooks and everything is authentic.
The links to the YouTube brand videos (if available) I have added at the end of each article about the single brands (CHÂTEAU BOEUF, ESPAÑA ORIGINAL, Gut Bressau, Maxi France, MERANO Speck, SCOTLAND HILLS, VIKINGYR) – feel free to take a look and make your own picture. Very important to know, with all brands exclusively distributed by R&S the origin of the animals can be traced from birth to the sales counter!
The family business Albert Rauch is noticeably not interested in making the greatest possible profit in the shortest possible time. As dreamy as it may sound, it is really about whether the company can stand behind the products with a clear conscience.
So, Mr. Bussmann and his colleagues always make sure that the animals are kept respectfully and according to ethical standards – this has nothing to do with the many certifications, but is a real matter of the heart.
This and the excellent reputation of the company’s Albert Rauch / R&S were basically the reason why I decided to introduce you to their history and brands.
At the beginning of February, I had the great opportunity to visit the R&S in-house exhibition at the Norderstedt branch near Hamburg. This exclusive event takes place twice a year at all company locations (Hamburg, Essen, Stuttgart and Munich) just before Easter and Christmas. For me as a Berliner, Norderstedt was of course ideal, so I didn’t need to travel to the R&S distribution centre in Essen, but could go on a day trip in the surroundings of Hamburg – the Berlin area so to speak.
It was a really impressive event and the atmosphere was very inviting, allowing me to try everything my heart desired in a very relaxed way. I have rarely seen so much delicious meat & sausage products in such a “small space”. Many brands that I have appreciated for years, lined up here unexpectedly next to each other.
In the catacombs – the basement of the company building, the team from R&S has established two presentation rooms for meat & sausage products – one with the wholesale assortment, and another for products that are already prepared in consumer packaging for self-service counters.
In addition, there are rooms for customer training and an inviting, bright Tyrolean parlour, where customers can get advice from R&S in a cosy atmosphere at the same time as tasting.
The staff were all very friendly and likeable throughout – the tone among each other was conspicuously collegial – in keeping with Albert Rauch’s motto “Only together are we strong and achieve our goals”.
The founder and namesake of the family business – Albert Rauch – had learned the butcher’s trade from scratch and then trained as a businessman. His motto “You are what you eat” could also have come from my grandfather, the two of them would certainly have got along well. The success of his company proved Albert Rauch right and what more could one want than to grow healthily with high-quality products and commitment.
With every product, the view of the end customer must be taken – what you wouldn’t eat yourself doesn’t come into the distribution portfolio – and craftsmanship should also remain craftsmanship. After the death of Albert Rauch his wife Inge Rauch continued the success story but not only this, she brought the company with her resolute and down-to-earth manner on a future-proof course.
R&S distributes many well-known brands such as the delicious salami products of AOSTE and the traditional hams and salamis of Citterio & Imperial. Together with the Spanish partner CASADEMONT, products such as natural mould or chorizo salamis have long been developed for the brand ESPAÑA ORIGINAL. In addition, there are the great hams from Renzini, Italfino and VIANI, GOLD MEAT brawn from Belgium, Sanpareil with its unique liver pâtés as well as various delicacies from Marco Polo – and all this exclusively. I think that every one of us has bought and enjoyed one of the products from this powerful portfolio at some point.
With many of the companies mentioned, R&S have a trustful partnership since several decades and this continuity pays off. (You can get an overview of the R&S partners and their diverse products on the corresponding “Genusswelt” website, here).
A very special brand in the distribution portfolio of R&S are Monte Nevado products from the woolly pig – more precisely from the Mangalica pig. This old Hungarian pig breed had the great luck to be discovered by scouts of the Spanish family business Monte Nevado shortly before its extinction in Hungary around 1991. Actually, the Spaniards were looking for obese pig breeds in order to be able to manufacture particularly durable products. When they came across the Mangalica pig, however, they realized that this breed, which is close to the Ibérico, was not only worthy of protection, but also had a lot of potential.
Monte Nevado, after a lot of research on site, found about 200 specimens, on which an outdoor breeding was built. Genetically the Mangalica pig is related to the Ibérico – but not quite as fat in the meat and just as tasty as the Duroc. Monte Nevado mainly produces its hams in Spain – the free-range animals are slaughtered in Hungary and its ham is brought to Spain to have enough time for air-dried ripening in the dry climate. After ten years the stock of this unique pig breed with more than 7000 breeding animals was more than secured again.
I was able to taste the hams from the Ibérico, the Duroc and the Mangalica pig at the same time at the in-house exhibition of R&S and I must say that from my point of view the ham originating from Hungary was the most delicious.
In addition to many brands that R&S distributes, the company is particularly proud to be the exclusive supplier of a handful of European premium meat brands. These brands are characterized by sustainable production, quality in rearing and keeping, and therefore also by excellent taste and very good processing properties. Not least because of this, products distributed by R&S can often be found in well-known gourmet restaurants.
With the various brands, international specialities are still offered and sold daily “from one source at a fair price”, in keeping with another motto of Albert Rauch. This involves more than 500 products which can justifiably be called hand-picked specialities.
Very important for fresh meat is of course the fact that R&S offers different “cuts”, i.e. the way in which the slaughtered animals were cut. Nowadays, it is often forgotten how an animal can be cut professionally, so that everything can be used. That is why, for example, very special pieces of beef, such as the flank steak (Bavette), the mayor’s piece or the hanging tender (Onglet or Nierenzapfen) are experiencing a renaissance in the butcher’s trade.
Of course, it also plays a big role what happens to the animals after slaughtering and cutting – at what temperature they are stored, how long and how. In addition to DryAgend, WetAged, there is a must for beef, for example, in terms of storage time – otherwise you get the proverbial tough shoe sole on your plate.
Also, how the parts are hung up decides whether the mainly used muscle meat can “relax” – it makes a difference on what kind of chopping the good part is hanging and whether it is a whole beef half or just a leg….
Today the actual turnover of the entire R&S sales group is well over one hundred and fifty million euro per year. One aspect that is certainly more than decisive for success is the constant closeness and respect for each customer.
The Rauch family has always placed particular emphasis on long-term and trusting cooperation from the very beginning of their business – and this has paid off. A further strength – and this has been the case since Albert Rauch GmbH was founded – is the flexibility of the Rauch companies. The market is always in view and R&S can react promptly to changes in customers and consumers.
The company R&S does not only take the time for consulting, it invests the time consciously. Here not only the employees are handpicked and properly trained. Every R&S customer gets the possibility to convince his sales professionals, butchers and employees at the service counter by R&S professionals of every single product and to make them fit for sales.
Even though many consumers often choose self-service products, market analyses have shown that these also tend to “strike” at service counters as long as the advice, but above all the freshness and presentation are right. The visual appeal is decisive in bringing consumers back to the meat and sausage products service counters – if they have grilled and enjoyed their first Gut Bressau Cowboy Steak, they will definitely come back for sure!
No matter which product – at R&S, true design and packaging professionals are at work, all products are attractively packaged according to their origin. SCOTLAND HILLS is as fresh and green as the pastures of Scotland, the MERANO Speck is made with wood decor and the mountains of South Tyrol and last but not least the design of the VIKINGYR Lamb from Iceland has a real Nordic Viking style in terms of colour and font.
As is well known, opinions are divided on the subject of packaging – in principle, I would think it would be better if we all stopped buying self-service items and instead bought what we used to buy from the sausage and meat counter.
Yes, these are also delivered packed in plastic – but at least all the small packaging would be dropped if we would bring our own containers to avoid plastic when we go shopping. With the packaging of MERANO Speck, R&S has already been able to replace 60% of the plastic previously used with real wood.
What material saving potential exists for packaging for major customers, or whether there are alternative possibilities for hygienic packaging of meat & sausage products that are feasible, I cannot judge – a research would be desirable in any case. However, I assume that the R&S approach is already being optimized on a daily basis.
Many of the mentioned R&S products and supply brands are available in well-known German supermarkets such as EDEKA, REWE and Co – but if you want to have the delicious meat & sausages delivered to your home, you can order them online at any time.
The website of the Genusswelt (world of enjoyment) provides a chic web shop for this purpose – but beware, you should only visit the site if you are already full – the many great product pictures quickly whet your appetite for more!
When ordering online, it is important to remember that Genusswelt is also a platform for selling fresh, high-quality meat. This means that even as with the butcher, not all products are always available and that the goods are delivered on certain days. This is the only way R&S can guarantee that the expected quality is always right – nothing should “slumber” over the weekend in the next post office, but everything should arrive just in time.
For example, if I am planning a BBQ event, I already think about when I want to expect the delivery. For capacity reasons alone – my refrigerator is certainly no bigger than yours – so it’s important to me that the goods arrive just before the event.
I think it’s great that Genusswelt allows the fresh meat to be transported in a very climate-neutral way, i.e. not in a refrigerated truck, but in boxes insulated with straw. So, there is still a little bit of plastic – but styrofoam is not used at all.
The companies Albert Rauch GmbH and R&S GmbH are made up of enthusiasts – real professionals who live and love their craft, who stand behind their products and give their employees room to develop, and have done so for decades with great success.
Many thanks to the Rauch family for the insights they have given me – I think it’s been far too long since I could scurry through the butcher’s shop every day – my memories have been “revived” in any case.
I wish all readers a lot of fun trying the great products and brands, whether in the pan or optimally from the grill!
