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Marcus Ostendorf in the family bakery: 150 years of tradition
Photo: Felix Adler / DER SPIEGEL
Marcus Ostendorf's mother still runs the Möhring bakery in Barleben, Saxony-Anhalt.
But at some point the 30-year-old will take over the business with the eleven employees.
It was founded in 1843, a traditional company.
The family is not yet planning when exactly Ostendorf will become the new boss.
But the future successor is already turning the bakery upside down.
The Möhring bakery actually belongs to a species that is dying out. There are fewer and fewer small, family-run bakeries: in the past ten years alone, around a third of the businesses closed, according to the Central Association of the German Bakers' Trade.
From almost 15,000 bakeries in 2009, the number fell to just under 10,500 last year.
Traditions are dying out here.
In many cases, one reason may be that the children of these craftsman families do not want to become bakers or butchers.
Because of course someone in the family has to be willing to continue the business.
That was the case with Marcus Ostendorf - he practically grew up in the bakery, he says, "any overcrowded course would have been nothing for me".
Nevertheless, it is no longer a matter of course that the child of a craftsman should also take over the family business.
"In the past, parents exerted a much greater influence on their children's career choices," says mid-market researcher Rosemarie Kay, "they do that less today."
But she also says that the succession problem is often only the trigger, not the cause, of the closings.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for many companies to make ends meet, not least because of the overpowering supermarkets.
"The moment the question of succession arises, some people think: I'll be doing this for a few more years, but I can no longer expect my children to do it," says Kay.
The silent revolution on dinner plates
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Marcus Ostendorf also wants to save the bakery with new recipes
Photo:
Felix Adler / DER SPIEGEL
If you ask Marcus Ostendorf why the bakeries are dying out, he also sees the guilt with the bakers themselves: because many haven't tried anything new.
"Simply saying, 'I am a regional craftsman, buy from me' as a sales argument is not enough," says Ostendorf.
In fact, he is currently discovering a renaissance among artisan bakers - but only among those who also dared to innovate.
The classic mixed rye bread is on the decline, says Ostendorf, and it sounds as if a silent revolution is taking place on Germany's dinner plates.
You have to ask yourself what bread will look like in ten years.
Perhaps like the varieties that are already on the counter at the Möhring bakery today: sauerkraut and ham bread, tomato and buttermilk bread, banana split bread - the special offer changes every two weeks.
There is also the "Octopussy" baguette, which is colored black with squid ink.
Or the wholemeal bread made from champagne rye, a special type of grain that does not need pesticides and is better tolerated by some people.
He is inspired by a network of bakers from all over the world who share recipes with each other, says Ostendorf.
"Wholesalers can supply mankind with bread rolls and toast until the doctor comes. But as a small baker you need unique selling points to attract customers."
"I'm not a monument conservator here either"
Baker Marcus Ostendorf
Dare to innovate instead of preserving monuments
The young baker with the dreadlocks is just so enthusiastic about innovative baking experiments.
In the small artisan bakery with almost 180 years of tradition, it almost seems a little radical how he overturned the range on the baking shelf.
He feels it is an honor to continue the tradition, says Ostendorf - but just because of the long tradition one shouldn't stand still: "I'm not a monument conservator here either," he says.
For one or the other, this change could happen too quickly.
Not only customers who just want to keep buying their mixed rye bread, but also Ostendorf's mother.
"At the beginning I had to tell her: Either we do it that way or I'm gone," says Marcus Ostendorf and laughs.
She was also skeptical about the shopping list, because the extravagant ingredients for his bread are expensive.
The development shows Ostendorf to be right
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Marcus Ostendorf: "As a small baker you need unique selling propositions to attract customers"
Photo:
Felix Adler / DER SPIEGEL
Now he no longer needs a leap of faith.
Because not only have expenses increased, but also sales.
And as long as his financial success proves that he is right, his mother is satisfied as an entrepreneur, says Ostendorf.
The extraordinary baking creations are increasingly attracting young customers, people in their early 30s who want to eat healthily and consciously.
Ostendorf loves his job.
Perhaps it is no longer as natural as it used to be that entrepreneurial children like him follow in their parents' footsteps.
Instead, he does it less out of compulsion - but out of passion and free will.
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