At HUNDHUND, we’ve decided to create a series spotlighting how businesses and individuals are navigating the crisis and how you might be able to help, if so inclined.
To kick it off, we spoke with Lukas Küttner, co-founder of Stay Home Club, a new collective offering Berlin delivery for some of our favourite sustainable food, beverage and home product brands.
“We are an association of different Berlin companies, each with a greater purpose - from social to ecological. We sell fair and sustainable products to raise money for our overarching goals.”
After their stockists were forced to close due to the lockdown, Lukas and his colleagues at sustainable drinks brand OSTMOST were left contemplating how they might save their business. In the end, their solution was found in working with their fellow brands.
“Most of us were facing severe losses, as we sell our products in Berlin bars, clubs and restaurants. We had up to a 90% loss of sales. So the idea was to get these brands together to form a club.”
Thankfully, the circles of socially responsible brands move in a more friendly direction than a competitive one, and so the collective fell into place quite naturally.
“We have personal friendships with a lot of them and have been working together for years now.”
The Brands:
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OSTMOST is the founding member of SHC - the brand that made this all possible. They’re a drinks company producing juices, spritzers and ciders. Their core philosophy is supporting biodiversity and do so by paying above-market prices to the farmers that offer it.
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Abyme Vodka is an organic spirits brand standing up for a more democratic, open society. Abyme also donates portions of their profits to cultural and social projects.
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SOLIDRINKS is a drinks brand - offering cola and mate - that donates 100% of their profits to refugee causes such as Women in Exile, Civil Fleet and Sea Watch.
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Querfeld is a social enterprise that rescues organic fruits and vegetables that big retailers deem to be ‘non-marketable’. Whether too big, too small or too crooked, Querfeld prevents the needless waste of delicious, fresh produce.
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Quartiermeister is a super exciting German beer brand that donates a fixed rate of 10 cents per litre sold to meaningful social projects - so far over 160 projects have been supported. The democratic structure of the brand allows customers to vote online to help decide which causes the money should go to.
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Coffee Circle is a coffee company that donates €1 from each kilogram sold into projects which empower the local communities of their farmers. You might say we have a soft spot for Coffee Circle! Read our full interview with them here.
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Viva con Agua is a mineral water company supporting drinking water and sanitation projects globally. They are working to create “A world without thirst.”
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Einhorn Condoms is brand producing fair, sustainable, vegan condoms featuring artwork and designs from a range of great artists.
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Goldeimer is a toilet paper brand that funnels 100% of its profits into Viva con Agua and Welthungerhilfe. These organisations spearhead projects that increase worldwide access to toilets, water and soap. Over half the world’s population has no access to secure sanitation - these guys are changing this.
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Sir Plus is a Berlin supermarket bringing excess food back into the cycle. By rescuing perfectly edible food products that would have otherwise been discarded, they make a meaningful contribution to the sustainable consumption movement.
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AltoMayo is a Peruvian family coffee company guided by ecological and sustainable principles. They work closely with small producers to develop environmentally friendly cultivation and harvest methods in order to preserve the rainforest and its biodiversity.
More than simply adapting to save their own collective existence, Stay Home Club also works to serve a greater purpose, with €5 from every order going to United We Stream - a fundraising project financially supporting venues threatened by the quarantine. You can find a full list of the Berlin venues they partner with here.
“I think it's very important," Lukas explains, "These people make Berlin what it is. Everyone wants to come because they make it special. If they don’t survive then [Berlin] won't be the same anymore.”
Alongside fighting for the Berlin culture scene, United We Stream also stands in solidarity with refugee causes, allocating 8% of total funds to Civil Sea Rescue.
For those keen to support their local community during the crisis but don’t know how, Lukas urges to keep an awareness of the exciting new initiatives and movements emerging every day. “Inform yourself of what is out there, because right now on every corner something is popping up.”
Thank you to Lukas and the Stay Home Club team.
You can check them out via the links below:
