n 1981, with a small vegetarian 'hippie collective' called Soyastern. This collective has now grown into Tofutown, a pioneer and innovator in the field of vegetarian foods, which is garnering world-wide attention with its products. In Europe, Tofutown is one of the leading producers of meat and dairy alternatives manufactured from plant sources. The company relies on filling technology from SIG Combibloc, and uses a CFA 310 filling machine to fill a range of soy and rice drinks in the aseptic carton pack combiblocSlimline.Company founder Bernd Drosihn, who also runs the Tofumusic record label: "In a single sentence, our business model is: we make foods that people like eating and drinking, without resorting to the use of animal products. We use organic raw materials such as wheat, soy beans and organic vegetables. Overall, at our three German factories in Wiesbaum (Vulkaneifel), Lüneburg and now also Neukirchen in North Hesse, we make more than 110 vegetarian products - around 35 per cent of which are exported". And not just within Europe. Tofutown products are also available in North America and in some parts of Asia, Australia and the Middle East. The product portfolio extends from vegetarian burgers and sausages to tofu products, sandwich spreads, vegetarian lards and cheeses, soy and rice drinks and pasta sauces. In addition, in 2004 Tofutown developed the world's first whippable organic soy cream. The cream products, and the company's rice and soy drinks, are on sale in carton packs.
After initially having the products filled in SIG Combibloc carton packs by a co-packer, Drosihn has now decided that Tofutown should invest in a SIG Combibloc filling machine of its own: "We've been won over by the efficiency and flexibility of the machine. The individual processes are perfectly coordinated with one another. It runs like a toy on a slot car track - smooth as silk!"
For Drosihn, healthy, moderate growth is the company's motto.
