A year ago it would have been for this “Ois without” In Bad Tölz it was almost called: Ois aus. The small unpackaged store on Hindenburgstrasse was almost in the process of being wound up, “we only had the option of stopping and closing at the end of the year,” remembers Andreas Munkert. The income was simply not enough to survive. Then he and the other board members came up with the saving idea: They switched the financing to a subscription system. The plastic-free business is now solid despite the consequences of Corona, the energy crisis and inflation, which aroused the interest of many unpackaged shops. Munkert reports that he has therefore received a lot of inquiries “from all over Germany, all the way to the far north”.
“If I have credit, then I’ll do something”
The new model is simple: customers first take out a subscription for one year, for which they pay between 20 and 150 euros per month. This fee is deducted from the account by direct debit and subscribers can make purchases using a personal code without using cash. This system gives clients “a little nudge” to actually come to the store. “Because if I have credit, then I do something,” says Munkert. Otherwise it often just remains a good intention. In the second year, the subscription can be canceled monthly.
Unpackaged stores find it difficult to make ends meet financially, even without crises. The range is usually manageable, the goods are expensive, the customer base is small, purchasing is expensive and the rent is often high. In Bad Tölz there is a cooperative behind the “Ois ohne”. However, last year’s attempt to oblige the approximately 180 members to pay a certain monthly fee and thus ensure the continued existence of the store failed. “The response was low,” says Munkert.
Around 280 subscribers support the new financing system
The new model is different: around 280 subscribers support this system one year after its introduction. This secures the approximately 10,000 euros that, according to Munkert’s calculations, are necessary for the survival of the small business. “If you see how many unpackaged stores have closed, things went well,” he says about the “Ois ohne”, which opened in 2019 on the initiative of Diana Meßmer. And it is something special if Bad Tölz can still afford such an address, while major role models in Cologne have now had to close.
In addition to the subscription, the “Ois without” also has the advantage that hotels, for example, are among the customers who buy soap in large quantities. The house on Hindenburgstrasse also belongs to the master painter Orhan Kiper, who lives on the first floor and is one of the Ois-ohne subscribers. “The owner is very accommodating when it comes to rent, which is worth its weight in gold,” says Munkert. Despite everything, the small 50 square meter shop is anything but a sure-fire success. In the end, you’ll be happy if you come out with plus minus zero. “We have to make sure we stay known.”
The range in “Ois ohne” is small but diverse. Spices are also included.
(Photo: Manfred Neubauer)
After all, the financial scope is large enough to employ two part-time workers and three mini-jobbers. “We don’t have to tell you: We don’t know whether we can keep you next year,” says the board member. This level of staff is also necessary because the customer frequency at Hindenburgstrasse 11 is not low, especially in the mornings. There is no longer a lunch menu like in the early days, but there is a coffee corner with home-baked cakes and stollen.
Otherwise, the range is small but diverse: green eggs, grains, flours, legumes, muesli, pasta, nuts, rice, dried fruits and snacks are included, as are cosmetics, stationery and dairy products. Everything without packaging material. Customers can fill some foods into containers they bring with them. “In terms of quality, we are at the level of an organic store,” says Munkert. As far as prices are concerned, “unpackaged is no more expensive than organic”.
The customer base is just as diverse. Yes, says Munkert, “we also have the fully organic people who come in barefoot.” But otherwise all social groups are there – “that’s the nice thing”. The single, the family, the SUV driver, the company, the businessman, the pensioner, the young person. From time to time there are also school classes who get to know the sustainable concept of the unpackaged store. In November, says Munkert, there was “nothing going on” in the Ois. Now, like all retailers, he is hoping for the Christmas business and at the end he beats the advertising drum verbally: “After a year we are still here, but now, people, come and enjoy that we are still here.”
The “Ois ohne”, Hindenburgstraße 11 in Bad Tölz, is open Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A subscription can be obtained in store, online at www.ois-ohne.de or by email to [email protected].