Organic in boxes: Delivery companies from Reichersbeur have been around for 25 years

Created: 12/30/2022, 5:00 p.m

By: Veronika Ahn-Tauchnitz

The organic boxes are packed four days a week.

Managing Director Georg Miederer and his employees supply around 450 customers.

© Proehl

The Reichersbeurer Bio-Box has been around since 1997.

A lot has happened in the 25 years of company history.

Today there is much more than just fruit and vegetables.

Reichersbeuern – In the beginning, every delivery was a surprise.

Whatever was in season and could be harvested went into the box.

Anyone who didn't like fennel or Brussels sprouts was unlucky and had to figure out what to do with the unloved vegetables.

A lot has changed since 1997, when monastery gardener Günther Eisele founded the Bio-Box in Benediktbeuern: the size of the range, the ordering channels, flexibility and, to a certain extent, the clientele who have the Bio-Box delivered to them.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary, managing director Georg Miederer and Nuria Thelen, responsible for marketing and the online shop, take stock of a time with ups and downs.

Located in the industrial area Reintal

The company, with around 20 employees, has been based in the Reintal industrial park in Reichersbeur for nine years.

There is a small office, a large room in which the fruit and vegetables that are delivered and other organic items are packed into boxes, as well as cooling and storage rooms.

"In the past 25 years there has actually been constant growth," says Miederer.

Especially with food scandals like the BSE crisis or the rotten meat scandal, the desire for healthy food grows.

"After that, demand usually drops again," says Miederer.

But the climate crisis is also causing people to think about a more conscious way of life.

"I didn't used to think about where my food came from or what was growing when and where," says Thelen.

And last but not least, Corona brought delivery offers such as the Bio-Box “quite a bit of hype because people no longer wanted to go out to shop”.

However, the effort involved in working under pandemic conditions was also higher, adds Miederer.

"So it wasn't a pure win-win situation." The drivers currently supply 450 customers.

The catchment area is the counties south of Munich.

Suppliers from the area

Not only fruit and vegetables can now be ordered, but the complete basic organic range, says Miederer.

The suppliers try to rely on regionality.

In addition to the Hofgut Letten, the Benediktbeuern monastery garden center and the Tölzer Zwickerhof, garden centers deliver from a radius of around 150 kilometers around Munich.

But since the customers also want a mango or an avocado, you can also order them.

"But we don't take air freight, we rely on delivery by ship," says Miederer.

And in general, you try to get customers excited about regional products, adds Thelen.

A seasonal calendar explains what grows here and when.

There are also recipe ideas that should motivate one or the other to try something unknown or unloved.

Before Christmas, for example, there was a cabbage challenge to make the winter vegetables palatable to customers.

You can now order online

Speaking of tasty: Customers have long been able to decide for themselves what goes into their boxes or create an exclusion list for vegetables that should never go in the box.

This can be done easily online and also at short notice.

With the increasing digitization of operations, flexibility has also increased.

In the meantime, you no longer necessarily have to take out a fixed subscription, but can have a single box delivered.

Depending on the size, the prices range between around 18 and 48 euros.

"The prices are similar to those in the organic supermarket," says Miederer.

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My space

When asked how the clientele has changed, the managing director almost has to smile a little.

"In the beginning it was the classic eco-clientele, totally strict in their way of life." Today it's all much more mixed.

"People buy their toilet paper from Aldi and organic vegetables from us," says Thelen.

Families would often get on board when the children are small and consciously pay attention to healthy eating, but the delivery service is also appreciated.

“Many just let the box run on.

Some of the children have now left the house – the only thing that changes is the size of the box ordered,” says Miederer.

Energy costs are a problem

In the anniversary year, the company is looking to the future with some worries.

On the one hand, the company itself is struggling with the increased energy costs, on the other hand, there is the fear that customers will also have to think about where they can still afford to shop.

"But it was always like that," says Miederer.

"Things are sometimes better and sometimes worse in the organic sector."

You can find more current news from the region around Bad Tölz at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.