Dear members, regular customers and friends,
it is high time that we get in touch with you again! We have had a few very exciting weeks, so this newsletter is a little longer.
We have mastered the transition from September to October as good as possible: The new account has been opened, the tax number has been assigned, essential contracts like electricity, internet, insurances etc. have been concluded and all our small and big suppliers have been informed about the change.
Since October we are proud to have Camille, Aly, Klara and Hilary in our team! Stefano had helped us out for September. Now, at the end of the month, we can say that we are slowly getting closer to a balanced shift schedule. September was definitely too fast and too hectic for us, which pushed many of us to our limits. The biggest chunks have been navigated, so we’re all looking forward to calmer waters in November.
A few more sentences about our assortment:
A big change from this month is our small selection of alcoholic beverages. So there is no need for you to make an extra shopping trip when it comes to wine, beer or sparkling wine. As a Christmas special, we also have a small amount of some hard liquor. Another Christmas special are the handmade stoneware bowls and plates from People Places Studio https://www.peopleplacespottery.com/ . They may look like a still life, but please do touch them and take them into your hands! They are robust and are made for being used everyday - in those bowls and plates our food definately feels like that they are in good hands :) If you have any questions and/or are interested, please feel free to contact us!
Some of you may have noticed that we have already disconnected the two large beverage refrigerators for several weeks. One of two ice chests will likely follow. We came to this decision, because actually the winter is just around the corner and it should really get colder now…the extra heat energy needed to make drinks even cooler in the winter or have a huge supply of ice to go with it - saving this energy is more sustainable from our point of view, saves valuable resources and also saves us money that we need in other places. For the very desperate among you we have nevertheless put aside a mini selection of chilled drinks somewhere else…just ask ;-)
Another step towards sustainability will bring additional changes to our assortment selection. We want to remain a full-line store for you, while keeping wastage as low as possible. Ensuring constant availability of products without knowing exactly if and how much is actually needed is a big challenge for us (indeed for the whole “market”). Many of you are already familiar with the problem of bread: How much is enough to satisfy your needs, without having “too much” bread and buns left over at the end of the day? This question also arises with so-called dry products. This is especially true for products that are less in demand, but still important for you. For this we need your understanding and preferably your cooperation! What does this mean in practice?
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there is a “reduced” basket for fruits and vegetables. There you can find some not so pretty, but still tasty fruits and vegetables. So please feel free to have a look ;)
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We are currently deselecting products that are hardly in demand. This creates more space in the store, and also space for some new products. If any of you miss certain products in this process, please contact us! We will continue to do special orders for members and regular customers, so don’t be afraid to express your wishes - we will then see what we can and want to do within our framework :-) Another consideration is to either agree on a minimum purchase quantity with you - perhaps also with a mini-discount for the purchase of an entire packaging unit - or better yet, to set up a collective order that is potentially visible to all interested parties. These ideas are still at the very beginning, of course we will keep you informed!
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In general: If you already know that you want quantity Y of product Z at time X, please let us know! This creates a certain planning security, so that time, energy and resources can go into where they are most needed. You already know the system of pre-orders for bread - this can be extended to many other things :-)
Speaking of bread: We are currently in the process of redesigning our bread assortment. We want to get even closer to our neighborhood and the small, independent stores. In due course, we will address this topic in more detail. Until then, let us say that we are very pleased to be able to offer breads and pastries from the Kønigliche Backstube as of Monday!
Other than that, we are also currently working on increasing our outreach. We love good old word of mouth and direct contact with people! “The Internet”, however, should definitely also be filled more with our presence ;-) Because in this we also see a chance to reach more people. A bit of social media, a new website and a small crowdfunding campaign are in the works…when it’s ready we’ll let you know right away, of course!
Unfortunately, there is also sad news to share:
Due to lack of staff, the dairy production of Hof Stolze Kuh has now been discontinued at the beginning of October. On the part of Janusz and Anja there is a call for participation. More about this here:
However, meat will still be available from their pastures.
Also, we unfortunately have to say goodbye to our beloved fresh oat milk from Havelmi:
And our ever-popular smoked tofu of the Soyrebels will have to pause until the end of this year with us - so we are even more pleased when the production from January picks up speed again and they can supply us again!
Last but not least:
The transition to a collective operation is truly a challenging, but also fulfilling task. It can be very exhausting, tough, and upsetting to discuss and talk out all kinds of things with a lot of people. Nevertheless, it is also fun to take our work into our own collective hands and heads, to experience how much more we can achieve when we tackle things together and to feel how we can build more and more on each other. All of this takes a lot of time, patience and also spaces where things can be tried out and mistakes can be made. In the process, we want to slowly develop ourselves, our ideas and the store - knowing that it will continue to be bumpy here and there. This is a new journey for all of us, and we want to value all of our resources, time, courage, motivation, and health, and go at the pace that feels good for everyone.
We hope and look forward to you continuing to walk this journey with us! We can only thank you every time again for your great support, all your patience, understanding and also your feedback! Please let us know at any time if you have something on your mind, if you want to share your thoughts etc. It is very important for us to stay in touch with all of you. And of course a huge thank you to all those who have already given us loans, donations, time and expertise!
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