Babett Oetken moved with her “Bio-Eck” from Schönebeck to Vegesack in the summer. (Christian Kosak)
–
The organic trend has been experiencing an increasing upswing in recent years. According to the latest industry report by BÖLW, the Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft, the turnover of German organic specialist retailers rose in 2020 from 3.76 in the previous year to 4.37 billion euros. The BÖLW attributes the development to the fact that during the pandemic people cooked more at home and the desire for healthy and environmentally friendly food has increased. Nevertheless, the trend in Bremen-Nord is only slowly arriving. Retailers seem to have a hard time opening or keeping a business, or simply see no reason to move into the area.
There are some organic food stores that have left the Bremen-Nord location in recent years. There is the Lesmona store in Burglesum, which closed its doors in 2020, or the Lindenblüte organic store on Kirchheide in Vegesack. What ultimately led the operating family to close can be speculated above all – in 2018, Managing Director Clemens Baier told WESER-KURIER that the competition from organic food in discounters and supermarkets was making life difficult for small organic retailers like him. According to information from this newspaper, private reasons played into the closure. In any case, it is certain that the number of shops that exclusively offer organic food is rather rare in Bremen-Nord. In addition to the offer in supermarkets such as Edeka, there is the health food store and the organic corner in Vegesack and an Aleco market in Burglesum as well as the individual organic stalls at the weekly markets.
Babett Oetken moved with her “Bio-Eck” from Schönebeck to Vegesack in the summer and noticed an increased demand there. She justifies this primarily with the location: “We are much more present in Vegesack than we were before. The bus passes right in front of the shop and the individual look makes customers aware of us. ”The shop is open every day from Monday to Saturday in the morning, and on Friday it is also open in the afternoon. On average, the 100 square meter shop welcomes around 60 to 80 people a day. She tells her customers that many former buyers from the closed organic shop Lesmona spilled over to her. But there are also many students from Jacobs University who shop with her. It doesn’t necessarily depend on whether the people are particularly wealthy: “I also get people who don’t have a lot of money, but who want to spend what little on good food.”
more on the subject
–
Millions of dollars with alternatives
-Milk without a cow
They have captured their place on supermarket shelves: soy, oat and almond drinks. We explain why they are so successful and what that classic …
more »—
Aleco managing director Georg Appel also reports a high number of visitors for his branch in Burglesum. Appel estimates that between 500 and 600 customers come to the 500-square-meter shop every day. There are several factors to consider when choosing a location for an organic market, he says. On the one hand, the density of the population is a point, on the other hand, the affinity to organic products in individual city districts. “From experience we can say that bio-affinity is high where there are many students and where the Greens do well in elections. Even in places with alternative educational institutions such as Waldorf kindergartens or schools, people have a higher connection to organic food. ”The organic supermarket chain Alnatura also likes to orient itself towards student areas, such as the quarter in Bremen, says a company spokeswoman Darmstadt. Neither Aleco nor Alnatura are planning to open new branches in Bremen-Nord in the short term. Appel has not received any interesting offers for retail space in the area in recent years, but sees no potential for demand in some parts of the city.
more on the subject
–
Bremen dealers are pulling along
-Organic products are popular with Bremen residents
For a long time, own brands and no-name products dominated the organic range in the grocery trade. But the demand for branded products in organic quality is increasing – not only for …
more »—
“Studies show that different manifestations of environmental and nature awareness are often a question of the overriding basic attitude, which includes values, sensitivities and basic orientations in the world,” explains Senator Maike Schaefer (Greens) authority for climate protection, the environment, mobility, urban development and housing construction the different levels of demand for organic food. In the districts of Bremen, these individual living conditions were shown in a variety of ways. Organic stores not only scored points with people who want to make a contribution to climate protection. The special ambience and the high quality of service are also aspects for people shopping in organic stores. Nevertheless, conviction alone is not enough – organic shops must also be accessible to everyone. “I would also like to see more organic and unpackaged shops in Bremen-Nord. It is important that these can be reached quickly so that customers can reconcile their purchases with everyday challenges, ”said Senator Schaefer. The state’s “BioStadt Bremen” project aims to make people more aware of organic nutrition.
Down to business
Biostadt Bremen
The Biostadt Bremen project aims to network ecological associations, clubs and projects in order to promote the regional food industry and create greater awareness among the population for organic food. An action plan for 2025, which was adopted by the Bremen Senate in 2018, aims to bring catering in facilities such as daycare centers, schools, hospitals and companies to a high level of quality.
–
–
