About Rundschau für den Lebensmittelhandel

Rundschau für den Lebensmittelhandel

Rundschau für den Lebensmittelhandel is a German trade magazine for the grocery retail industry, published monthly by the medialog-Verlag in Gaggenau. With the 2026 volume marking its 97th year of publication, the magazine counts among the oldest trade journals of the German food retail sector. The magazine describes itself as the practice-oriented trade magazine for specialists and executives of the German grocery trade, with the core target group being the decision makers at the point of sale and in the retail head offices. The editorial focus lies on current and relevant industry topics, store checks and interviews, and assortment-related content on market and product trends, with the goal of sustainably increasing value creation at the point of sale. The magazine also runs the fitfortrade qualification programme for young talent in the grocery trade.

Overview

Rundschau für den Lebensmittelhandel addresses the professionals of the German grocery retail industry: independent retailers, store managers, assortment managers, purchasing managers, sales managers and specialist buyers in the retail head offices. The magazine's editorial programme is practice-oriented, focusing on the topics that determine the daily business at the point of sale: industry developments, store concepts, assortment trends and product innovations. The magazine's store checks examine the best departments in Germany — from fruit and vegetable sections to award-winning stores — while the interviews give a voice to the industry's executives and entrepreneurs.

The magazine prioritises the food industry thematically, while also reporting on non-food assortments, store construction and capital goods. The magazine's "Ein Kaffee mit..." interview format presents personalities of the trade in conversation. The magazine's qualification programme fitfortrade, the successor of Grips&Co, supports young professionals in the grocery trade with learning materials, magazines and an app, promoting brand knowledge and quality at the point of sale. The magazine's website rundschau.de extends the print content with current news and the media data for advertisers. The magazine's 97th volume in 2026 documents nearly a century of continuous publication. The magazine's longevity is exceptional in the German trade press, with few titles able to document such a continuous publication history in the food retail sector.

History

Rundschau für den Lebensmittelhandel has been published since 1930, with the 2026 volume marking the 97th year of publication. The magazine's long history spans the development of the German grocery trade from the corner shops of the early 20th century to the modern supermarket and discount landscape. The magazine was founded in the final years of the Weimar Republic, survived the war and post-war periods, and accompanied the Federal Republic's "Wirtschaftswunder" with its transformation of food retailing. The magazine has accompanied the structural changes of the industry: the rise of the discounters, the concentration of the retail groups, the expansion of private labels, and the growing importance of sustainability, organic products and digitalisation.

The magazine is published by the medialog-Verlag, based in Gaggenau, a specialist publisher of trade journals for food and retail companies. The publisher's managing director is documented in the media data as the Verlagsleitung medialog GmbH & Co. KG. The magazine's qualification programme for young talent, originally launched as Grips&Co, was renewed as fitfortrade, supporting trainees and young professionals in the grocery trade with a free annual subscription of the magazine, learning materials and an app. The magazine's long-standing position as the practice-oriented journal of the grocery trade has made it a fixture of the industry's professional communication. The magazine's qualification programme for young talent reflects the industry's need for skilled professionals, with the fitfortrade programme supporting the next generation of the grocery trade's specialists and executives.

Content and Sections

The editorial content of Rundschau für den Lebensmittelhandel is organised around the magazine's focus topics: industry news, store checks, interviews and assortment content. The industry news covers the developments of the grocery trade, from the strategies of the retail groups to the market trends in individual product categories. The store checks examine outstanding store concepts and departments, such as the winners of the Deutscher Frucht Preis for the best fruit and vegetable departments in Germany. The interviews present the industry's decision makers, from the CEOs of brand manufacturers to independent retailers.

The assortment-related content covers market and product trends, from fair trade to new product launches, with the goal of increasing value creation at the point of sale. The magazine's "Ein Kaffee mit..." format offers conversational interviews with industry personalities. The fitfortrade programme's magazines, published three times a year, provide young professionals with food and marketing topics. The magazine's website publishes current news from the grocery trade on a continuous basis. The magazine's content is published in German, addressing the German grocery retail industry. The magazine's store checks — from the Deutscher Frucht Preis to the best store concepts — provide the industry with benchmarks for excellence at the point of sale. The magazine's interviews give a voice to the practitioners, from independent retailers to the executives of the retail groups. The "Endlich selbstständig" features portray young merchants who drive the grocery trade forward with energy and passion, documenting the entrepreneurial spirit of the independent retail sector.

Publisher and Organization

Rundschau für den Lebensmittelhandel is published by the medialog-Verlag, based in Gaggenau, with the Verlagsleitung medialog GmbH & Co. KG documented as the publishing management. The magazine appears monthly, with the 2026 volume marking the 97th year of publication. The magazine's subscription contact is abo@medialog.de. The magazine's qualification programme fitfortrade is run by the magazine's team, with Maria Akhavan named as a contact for the programme. The magazine's advertising business is documented in the media data, with the print magazine's formats and the website's banner advertising. The magazine's fitfortrade magazines are published three times a year as part of the qualification programme for young talent. The programme's free annual subscription of the main magazine for participants integrates the young professionals into the industry's professional communication from the start of their careers.

Digital Presence

The digital home of the magazine is rundschau.de, the website of Rundschau für den Lebensmittelhandel, which publishes current news from the grocery trade and presents the magazine's issues, media data and qualification programme. The website's media data documents the magazine's title portrait, target group and advertising formats. The fitfortrade programme operates the website rundschau.de/wettbewerbe/fitfortrade with learning materials and the fitfortrade app, which allows young professionals to test their knowledge in a playful way. The magazine's digital offering combines the website's news service with the qualification programme's digital tools, extending the print magazine's reach to the digital audience of the grocery trade. The magazine's online presence serves the industry's professionals alongside the monthly print issues. The fitfortrade app's playful knowledge tests engage the young target group in the digital channels they use daily. The programme's sponsors — brand manufacturers, retail companies and service providers — support the free annual subscription for participants, integrating the industry's stakeholders into the qualification effort. The programme's "Wissen in der Box" learning materials, with brand trainers in various product groups, provide the practical knowledge for the trainees' daily work at the point of sale. The programme's competitions and prize draws engage the young professionals, with the fitfortrade magazines delivering food and marketing topics three times a year. The programme's integration of the industry's stakeholders — from brand manufacturers to retail companies — makes it a joint effort of the grocery trade.