Canteen classic
Volkswagen sets sales record for currywurst – thanks to a new variant
The VW currywurst is known and famous far beyond the borders of Wolfsburg. In this case, a VW shareholder treats himself to a snack at the car manufacturer’s general meeting.
© Stefan Zeitz / Imago Images
The VW currywurst is legendary and sells better than any small car. Now there has even been a sales record – thanks to a new variation on the canteen classic.
The classic even achieved record sales last year, as the VW works council announced on Friday in an article on the intranet, which was available to the German Press Agency. A total of 8.33 million units, including all variants, were sold in 2023, around 400,000 more than in the previous record year of 2022. A spokesman for the works council confirmed the information.
The record is thanks to the hot dog variant launched in 2021, which sold almost two million times in 2023. 6.4 million pieces of the classic currywurst were sold. In 2019 there were already seven million, and in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021 it was 6.5 million.
Banning the VW currywurst brought former Chancellor Schröder into action
The banishment of the classic from a VW canteen in Wolfsburg caused a stir nationwide in 2021. Above all, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s reaction to the “power bar of skilled workers in production” fueled a debate about meat consumption in companies. In August 2023, VW lifted the ban on currywurst in the canteen in question. Currywurst was always on offer in the other more than 30 canteens and kiosks in the plant.
The VW currywurst is also available in many supermarkets in Lower Saxony. It is manufactured in the butcher shop of the Volkswagen Service Factory.
Read here: Can the employer educate us at lunch? A conversation with canteen expert Holger Pfefferle. Plus: a ranking of health-conscious companies.