About TK-Report

TK-Report

TK-Report is Germany's only trade magazine devoted exclusively to frozen food. Published in Hamburg by SN Fachpresse, it has chronicled the frozen food industry for more than fifty years, serving professionals across the entire value chain — from manufacturers and importers to food retailers, wholesalers, caterers and logistics providers. With ten print issues a year, a daily news website, a newsletter, special editions and industry awards, TK-Report functions as the central communication platform of the German-speaking frozen food trade, covering companies, products, brands, markets, people and trends in a breadth and depth no general food-industry medium can match.

Overview

The frozen food sector is one of the most dynamic segments of the German food industry: per-capita consumption has risen for decades, the product range in supermarket freezer cabinets now runs to thousands of items, and the out-of-home market — restaurants, canteens, care catering — depends heavily on frozen supply chains. TK-Report is the specialist medium that maps this world. Its readership comprises decision-makers and professionals in all branches of the industry: producers and brand manufacturers, importers, the food retail trade, cash-and-carry and delivery wholesalers, the catering and communal feeding sector, cold-chain logistics providers and equipment suppliers.

The magazine describes itself as a modern, high-quality communication platform for the industry's professionals. Its editorial approach combines detailed market analysis with company reporting: each issue carries news, product presentations, company portraits, market data, interviews and surveys, alongside a rotating "Forum" section that examines a different product or theme in depth. The digital extension at tk-report.de publishes industry news daily, while the TK-Report newsletter keeps subscribers up to date between issues. Special formats — including the TK-Hits awards and anniversary specials such as "75 Jahre TK in Deutschland" — extend the brand beyond the regular publishing rhythm into events and industry celebrations.

For advertisers, TK-Report offers the only German-language print environment that reaches the frozen food trade in its entirety, with media data, special advertising formats and a job market completing the commercial offering. The brand's longevity — more than five decades in a specialist niche — reflects the stability of both the medium and the market it serves.

History

TK-Report looks back on more than fifty years of publication, making it one of the longest-running specialist food trade titles in Germany. It emerged alongside the rise of frozen food as a mass-market category: from the post-war decades, when frozen products moved from novelty to staple, the industry needed a dedicated trade press to report on its companies, technologies and markets. TK-Report filled that role and has accompanied every major phase of the sector's development — the expansion of the freezer-cabinet assortment in food retail, the professionalisation of the out-of-home market, the brand-versus-private-label debates, the rise of convenience and snacking, and the more recent premiumisation and health trends in frozen ranges.

The magazine is published by SN Fachpresse, a Hamburg-based specialist publisher. The publisher's masthead names Michael Steinert, Thomas Hillmann, Klaus Linnenbrügger and Tanja Seiffert in publishing roles, with the editorial team working from Hamburg. In 2024 the brand underwent an online rebranding, modernising its digital presence at tk-report.de while retaining the established print identity. The current design is described by the publisher as young and fresh, built for clarity, usability and quick orientation across news, product groups, company portraits, service topics, country reports, interviews and surveys.

Through five decades the title has remained the single German-language trade magazine for frozen food — a position the publisher states explicitly and that no competitor has challenged. Its archive effectively documents the history of the German frozen food industry itself, from the early brand battles to today's debates about sustainability, energy costs in the cold chain and the changing eating habits of younger consumers.

Content and Sections

Each TK-Report issue follows a structured editorial concept. The "Markt" section opens with news, followed by compact briefings for the food retail trade ("LEH kompakt") and the out-of-home sector ("GV kompakt"), plus market data such as the industry's sales statistics. The "Interview des Monats" presents a conversation with a leading figure from the industry — manufacturers, retailers or association heads. At the heart of every issue lies the "Forum", a themed special that each month examines a different segment in depth: ready meals and snacks, meat, fish, game and poultry, vegetables, fruit and potato products, bakery goods, desserts and ice cream. Cross-cutting themes — brand versus private label, the out-of-home market, technology and logistics, and trade-fair reporting — complete the editorial mix.

The "Länderreport" looks beyond Germany at international frozen food markets, reflecting the global nature of sourcing and production. Company portraits and product presentations give manufacturers a platform to present innovations, while surveys and market analyses provide the data-driven context professionals need. Service topics address the practical concerns of the trade, from freezer-cabinet management to energy efficiency in cold storage.

Special editions mark industry milestones: recent specials have celebrated "70 Jahre DTI" (the German Frozen Food Institute), presented the "TK-Hits" award winners and commemorated "75 Jahre TK in Deutschland". The TK-Hits awards honour outstanding products and concepts in the frozen food trade, giving the brand an event character beyond publishing. A job market ("Stellenmarkt") serves the industry's recruitment needs, and the daily website plus newsletter ensure that breaking industry news — from trade-fair results like Chillventa to retail takeovers and executive appointments — reaches readers without waiting for the next print issue.

Publisher and Organization

TK-Report is published by SN Fachpresse, a specialist publishing house based in Hamburg. The publisher focuses on trade media for the food industry, with TK-Report as its flagship for the frozen segment. The publishing team named in the magazine's masthead includes Michael Steinert, Thomas Hillmann, Klaus Linnenbrügger and Tanja Seiffert, operating from the publisher's Hamburg offices. Media data, subscription management and advertising sales are handled through the publisher's central platform at snfachpresse.de, where the magazine is presented with its key data: ten issues per year and an annual subscription price of 117.70 euros gross plus postage.

The organisational model is that of a classic German Fachverlag: a compact specialist editorial team with deep industry contacts, supported by the publisher's central services for production, distribution, marketing and advertising sales. The close ties to industry institutions — the German Frozen Food Institute (Deutsches Tiefkühlinstitut, dti) and the cold-chain logistics association VDKL both appear regularly in the magazine's forums — reflect the publisher's embedded position in the sector. This institutional proximity gives TK-Report access to market data, industry events and expert voices that generalist media cannot easily replicate, and it underpins the magazine's role as the industry's paper of record.

Digital Presence

The digital home of the brand is tk-report.de, a news portal publishing frozen-food industry news daily — from company announcements and personnel changes to trade-fair coverage and market developments. The site's structure mirrors the print brand's sections, with dedicated areas for news, new products, the newsletter, media data, the job market and the TK-Report specials. Social sharing and a free newsletter extend the reach of the digital offering, ensuring that industry professionals receive breaking news directly.

The 2024 online rebranding modernised the site's appearance and usability, aligning it with the print magazine's fresh design language. E-paper editions make the print issues available digitally, with tables of contents published as PDFs for each issue. Through its website, newsletter and e-paper, TK-Report maintains a continuous publishing rhythm between the ten print issues, serving a professional audience that expects both the depth of the monthly analysis and the speed of daily news. In a specialist niche where personal networks and timely information drive business, the brand's multi-channel presence — print, web, newsletter, awards and specials — secures its position as the indispensable medium of the German frozen food trade.