**Owning the Flock, From New Zealand to Germany**

Dawn Meats just tightened its grip on the lamb trade.

The Irish meat giant has acquired German importer and distributor Alexander Eyckeler for an undisclosed sum. Eyckeler is one of Alliance Group’s largest customers, supplying lamb, mutton and venison to retail, food service and cash and carry markets across Germany. It is also a key account manager for the Alliance Ashley brand, which holds a dominant market share in Germany.

Timing matters. In October 2025, Dawn Meats bought a 65% stake in New Zealand’s Alliance Group. Now it has snapped up one of Alliance’s biggest German customers and is folding Eyckeler into the integration of Alliance’s business. Eyckeler handles about 6.5 tonnes of fresh and frozen lamb and beef.

Zoom out and you see the scale play. Dawn Meats generates more than €3bn in annual revenues, employs over 8,000 people across 10 countries, and processes one million cattle and 3.5 million sheep a year. In the UK, it trades as Dunbia.

Why it matters. This is vertical integration in action. Dawn is not just buying supply. It is buying the route to market in Germany for red meat, especially lamb. Control the processor. Control the brand. Now control the distributor.

The quiet insight? In a protein market where margins get squeezed fast, owning the customer can be just as powerful as owning the herd.