Get involved and just do it, “I have this hands-on mentality in me,” says André Heuck, founder and owner of the organic bakery Cumpanum from Bobingen. It is in the event location of the Kustermann household goods store, right on the Viktualienmarkt. On the chest of his white polo shirt it says “Finally a bread that makes you happy”. The organic baker can be found with a pop-up store in the department store until the end of October, where he offers fresh baked goods every day.
Such collaborations have a tradition at Kustermann. The company repeatedly invites manufacturers and businesses to its sales areas, preferably those from the region. The aim is to promote business partners and offer customers variety and stimulation.
Many Munich retailers do this. They don’t just want to sell goods, they want to build a close relationship with their customers. But many people find it difficult to create a community of fans. Since Corona, it has become even more difficult: more and more is being done digitally – from meetings to purchasing. In order to lure customers who can order everything from their sofa at home into the analogue world of Munich shops, retailers are coming up with a lot of ideas.
The demands are high. At such events, the focus should not be on the marketed product, regardless of whether it is a duvet or a baking pan. It shouldn’t seem like a coffee trip. Rather, the goal is to offer customers a very special experience in order to emotionally charge the brand. If it’s done well, an event like this is fun – and yes, it also brings in sales.
A stage between pots and pans
So Heuck and his organic bakers get a stage between all the expensive pots and pans at Kustermann. Heuck was born on the island of Rügen. His parents had a private bakery in the GDR at the time, which is not a given. The family later went west and founded a bakery in Hildesheim, where Heuck learned the trade.
After his training he is heading further afield. He worked in a patisserie on the Greek island of Kos, learned how to bake pretzels in Baden-Württemberg, graduated at the age of 21, went to the newly opened Aldiana Club Hotel in Cyprus and finally worked at the largest casino in the world on Macau. “12,000 employees, 100,000 guests every day, everything is crazy,” says Heuck.
After a year he moved back to Germany. In 2018 he opened his first bakery in Bobingen, Swabia. It now has around 100 employees and several branches, including in Munich.
“We have to produce food that doesn’t just fill you up and is cheap,” says Heuck. “It was clear to me that if I started a bakery, firstly it had to taste particularly good and secondly it had to be organic.” Cumpanum works with 14 farmers who grow grain in the region specifically for the craft business. The grain is ground by the Bennomühle in Friedberg or the Meyermühle in Landshut.
The sourdoughs are homemade and handcrafted: without baking mixes, without technical enzymes, without anything that is not needed. And also without wheat. “We have really very simple ingredients. Our spelled bread contains wholemeal spelled flour, water and salt. Nothing more,” says Heuck. “I know, all bakers say that. For us it’s just true.” He’s not an “eco-fuzzie” and doesn’t believe that he can change the world. “But I am convinced that what I do as an entrepreneur, as a person, as a baker, I have to do well.”
SZ Plus test at the Oktoberfest: rides for the really tough. Or?
Some of the rides at Oktoberfest will get your pulse racing just by watching them. But what is it really like in Skyfall, Skater or Olympic Looping? We filmed: Six rides without any side effects, at least for you.
This claim convinced André Garcia. He is one of three managing directors at Kustermann; the other two come from the family that is now running the company in the seventh generation. “We are always looking for exciting companies that embody our values, like Cumpanum,” says Garcia. “We like to give the organic baker a stage because we think that our guests are attracted to the concept.” Garcia comes from the hotel industry – he also sees himself in the role of host and not of salesman at Kustermann.
“We have to redefine retail. Of course, it’s also about making shopping an experience,” says Garcia. “When it comes to events, there are no limits for us.” There are around 600 performances a year; On some days there would be five or six events in the house. These are not always “exclusive presentations”, but sometimes a specialist who presents a vacuum cleaner or window wiper and invites customers to test clean it. From the regular customer breakfast to an opening, there is nothing that has not already been done. “Our customers should always have the feeling that something is happening at Kustermann and that I can discover new things there,” says the managing director.
“It’s almost a real consultation.”
Almost no retailer today can do without event marketing. The Norwegian outdoor specialist Norrøna, for example, regularly invites its sporty customers to guided mountain bike tours in the Alps, a via ferrata tour or a film premiere in the store on Sendlinger Straße. The Lego Store organizes workshops for children to build toys. Hugendubel organizes the “Bookstock Literature Festival” live from the Bavaria Studios in Munich; to be followed via live stream. There are also readings in the branches. Such events have a clear goal: they are intended to strengthen awareness, image, customer loyalty and ultimately the business success of a brand.
Open detailed viewHow to make a bed: blankets and pillows in the newly designed Bettenrid store. (Photo: Catherina Hess)
Bettenrid, another traditional Munich house, also relies on the concept and regularly organizes sleep and health weeks with free lectures and workshops in January. The signal: we don’t sell pillows and mattresses here, but good sleep. Sleep doctor and brain researcher Manuel Schabus then explains, for example, why it is not a good idea to skimp on sleep, and Munich master baker Julius Brantner explains how he goes about the world well-rested despite unusual working hours.
The series of events is not a small thing that is done on the side. They want to understand what customers want and are investing a lot of money and nine months’ lead time in the series of events. The invitations not only went out to regular customers, but were widely distributed and advertised.
The effort seems to be paying off. The program is usually fully booked quickly. “Then you think about, should we make this bigger now? No, we leave it small and fine in our store,” says the managing director and, to be on the safe side, emphasizes that “no product is sold” on these lecture evenings. Rather, the audience is provided with tips, tricks and methods to be able to sleep soundly again. Because no matter how comfortable the best mattress may be, what is perhaps the most beautiful thing in the world cannot simply be bought.
