Food: Shelf Gaps for Tofu as Demand Outpaces Production
Tofu is selling faster than German makers and retailers can supply it, leaving empty shelf spots in some stores. Producers are expanding, but normal supply may not return until 2026 or 2027.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
German tofu demand has surged so quickly that retailers and manufacturers are reporting shortages. Some products are paused, more production is being added, but supply problems may linger for months.
Tofu is like a toy that suddenly becomes super popular at school: everyone wants one, but the factory cannot make enough fast enough. Stores run low, and the makers need time to build more machines before the shelves fill up again.
Analysis
What is happening
German shoppers looking for tofu are finding gaps on the shelf. Rewe says availability is limited because demand has risen sharply and remains very high, while some manufacturers are running into capacity bottlenecks. The retailer does not expect a quick fix and says full normalization may not come before the end of 2026.
Where the shortages come from
The producer Taifun says it recently could not supply all products in the requested volumes. It points to temporary production problems that sharply reduced its supply of natural tofu, which it calls the base for its products. As a result, stock levels fell and some items were temporarily taken out of production to stabilize operations. Taifun says those products should return gradually, with the current outlook pointing to early 2027.
Another Berlin-based maker, Treiber Tofu, also says it is working at capacity. It says soy is available, so the problem is not raw material supply, but production limits. The company wants to expand output, but that will take time.
Why demand is so strong
Retailers say tofu has become more popular, especially in cities and among younger customers. Björn Fromm of the German food retail association says interest in high-protein foods has risen in recent years, linked to health trends and muscle-building advice. Rewe says its tofu sales have doubled over the past three to four years, and were about 30% higher in 2025 than in the year before.
The article also notes that plant-based meat alternatives as a broader category are still much larger than tofu itself, even though tofu has become much more mainstream. The overall production of meat substitutes in 2025 fell slightly after a long boom, but tofu demand kept rising.
Key points
- German retailers are reporting tofu shortages and empty shelf spaces because demand has risen faster than supply.
- Rewe says a full normalization is unlikely before the end of 2026, while some products may remain limited even longer.
- Producer Taifun has paused some items and is building new production capacity in Freiburg.
- Treiber Tofu says it is already producing at capacity and needs time to expand.
- Retailers link the boom to protein trends, health habits, and stronger demand from younger urban consumers.
If the new capacity at Taifun and other producers comes online as planned, store shelves should refill more reliably. The article suggests tofu has already won a steady place in German kitchens, which could support a more stable market over time.
If demand keeps rising faster than production, shortages could last well into 2026 or even early 2027 for some products. Smaller or paused items may stay hard to find, especially if manufacturers need time to expand capacity and recover stock.
