Frequently Asked Questions

There’s a bug on my food, welp!

Caterpillars, insects, worms and other soil organisms - they are all of fundamental importance for maintaining an intact and balanced ecosystem. However, the immensely high use of pesticides in conventional trade damages them directly or indirectly. This destroys biodiversity and the biological balance with devastating consequences for our ecosystem as a whole.

In the organic field, it is strictly forbidden to use synthetic chemical pesticides. Instead, the main focus is on consistent, preventive action and support for the self-regulating mechanisms that nature itself has. This holistic approach preserves biodiversity - so we are happy about every caterpillar in the salad!

Why do you still sell expired food?

“Expired” simply means that the minimum shelf life date has been exceeded. This is set by each manufacturer itself and is intended to be an indication of when a product should be eaten before it possibly loses flavor and/or quality.

We see the best-before date as an orientation and recommend additionally using your own senses together: Does the product smell sour, rotten or fermented? Are there mold stains or rotten spots to be discovered? Does it taste acidic or not as it should?

If a product has actually gone bad, the product’s water content will tell you whether it should actually go in the garbage can or whether the affected part can be cut off (generously): The higher the water content (such as watermelons or cucumbers), the more the mold pulls in.

What exactly does “collective” mean?

First of all, “collective” means something like “together”. We all work together at Bioase and make all important decisions together. For example, which products we sell, how much we pay ourselves, who goes on vacation when or which project we tackle next.

But being a collective is also a political stance. We believe that workers should take the fate of their workplace into their own hands instead of simply accepting work instructions “from above”. We see ourselves as a leftist place that is about emancipatory self-management and the attempt to live a different alternative within a capitalist economy. An alternative that is about people, trust, patience and time, recognition of our non-utilizable, diverse personalities. You can read more about our concept and us here.

Why are you so expensive?

“Why are ‘others’ so cheap?”, we then ask ourselves. As a small business, it is important to us that other small businesses can make a living from their products, meaning that they are paid appropriately for their work.

Setting prices is a complex story and many factors have to be taken into account that vary for each individual business (e.g. store concept, rent, operating costs, labor costs, etc.). We support organic AND fair trade and also want to be able to live from our sales. We cannot and do not want to keep up with the pricing policy and profiting of the chains.

One possibility for shopping for a cheaper price compared to other shops is through our membership system.
You can find more information about it here: Link

Why should I support you?

Because you believe in small, independent stores and not in large, corporate chains. Or because you believe in egalitarian, collective structures as opposed to hierarchies and a lack of transparency. Or because you are convinced that we really need sustainable food and not just a green-washed “organic” lifestyle trend. All good reasons, right? :-)

How else can I support you apart from coming to shop?

Advertising! We are very happy about your active support, whatever is possible for you!

1. when it fits in well with table talk: Talk (again) to your friends and acquaintances about us and the store (and about small, independent structures in general), and especially ask those people who don’t/rarely/struggle to come what would motivate them! We still need you, and we need them, no matter how small or large the purchase! We are looking forward to the reactions!

2. gifting vouchers or trial-memberships is an easy way to support us, and hopefully they will stay :-)

3. leave a rating and/or thumbs up for us on Google, Insta and Co. These are not our preferred spaces, but these are different times and a lot of things are now taking place in the virtual world

4. we still have a lot of flyers left! Take a bunch with you and hand them out wherever you go and where you think it would be appropriate, of course

5. we also offer deliveries. Ask at your office, café or daycare center if they would be interested in a weekly fresh food basket, for example

6. We are an acceptance point for the so-called Guudcard. Many employers offer a tax-free benefit in kind, i.e. a voucher for your purchases. You can redeem this voucher at various places - including at our store!

If you have any other great ideas, please do let us know! :-)

Why don’t you offer more packaging-free products?

We are currently working on our bulk packaging range. This requires a lot of research, because we want to offer really worthwhile packaging-free solutions and not just distribute waste differently or make it invisible to you as a customer. We will move forward step by step, so stay tuned and patient! :-)

Why do you prefer cash instead of card payment?

Card payments may be free of charge for you, but for us, fees are charged at various points for all card payments. It also takes a few days longer for the money to reach our account when processing card payments, so we can’t access it immediately.

Please understand that we accept EC payments from a purchase of €5 and all other cards only from €10. Since the collective takeover of Bioase, our expenses for the costs of monetary transactions have increased by more than a quarter compared to before - which is mainly due to credit card payments. We would rather use these costs for other things than for the profits of some payment services, but for that we need your cash :-) We like it best when it fits, so you are welcome to bring your small change!