For most of the German food industry, however, this provided little schadenfreude. Germany has some of the lowest food prices in Europe with its citizens spending only about 14% of their income on food and beverages. Alongside global giants like Nestlé and Unilever, there are a few German companies that fall into this bracket. (Tom Werner/Image: Getty/Tom Werner)This all matters because the strength of the German food industry is not just a concern for the food businesses themselves but the rest of the German economy and even global trade. The German food industry’s other big export is waste.