“That’s J.Kinski: We do the shit ourselves. That’s why we’re looking for partners who share our vision and want to work with us to take the J.Kinski brand to the next level.”
Tabula Rasa at J. Kinski: New course for even more consistency in terms of sustainability and fair production. Out of the former ice cream parlor and towards more professionalism – and even more visionary than before.
Thuringia, 20.6.2024
Unconventionally consistent. For the former restaurateur, party king, street food hopper and J.Kinski founder, making things yourself has always been the top priority. In his company, he follows strict standards in terms of sustainability and fairness.
Kinski/Goodvenience.Bio GmbH , an unconventional brand that has made a name for itself primarily with its nose-to-tail approach and maximally sustainably produced "Goodvenience" products in organic quality, is facing a major change: In order to be able to maintain these standards, the old business structure must be broken up. "It was clear to us that if nothing happened now, we would have to give up or be untrue to our own values. Neither was an option," says founder Jörg Daunke, alias Kinski, founder and managing director. The background: Demand is high, but the company can hardly keep up with it anymore and is striving for more than just rapid growth. The team wants to get out of the proverbial founder's garage, but at the same time preserve its USPs and make the seemingly impossible possible: unconventional products that fully comply with the rules of socially and ecologically sound production - without outsourcing and low wages.
The real survival of the brand can only be ensured by scaling up with automated production on an appropriate scale, which, however, remains based in Germany. At the beginning of May, the only option was restructuring. There are talks with new partners and a new location is in sight. The envisaged goal: In addition to optimal working conditions, the new, much larger premises should finally make complete no-waste and CO2-neutral production possible, which even uses the waste heat from the soup kitchen.
"We want to remain the invincible Gallic village that doesn't just ride the organic and fair trade wave, but really stands behind what is written on the bottle and behind the brand. Even if that isn't always the easiest way," says Daunke. "We are already making the magic potion, but we need different conditions to continue to brew it according to the right standards."
The brand enjoys a huge fan base, was awarded the EU Organic Award in 2022 and could produce a lot more than it has so far. "Our production kitchen has long been bursting at the seams and we can no longer ensure that our employees continue to have a good working environment and protect them from overwork," says Daunke. What others would do: move production to Asia. That is out of the question for J. Kinski. "What was the J.Kinski idea from the beginning should stay that way. We do the shit ourselves and here on site. Only then will it be good. On all levels." In fact, everything has been done in-house here since the beginning, with a team of 12 employees: purchasing, production, warehousing, marketing, shipping/logistics, sales. Daunke even designs the labels himself.
In the 64 square meter kitchen of a former ice cream parlor in Magdala, Thuringia, several hundred liters of broths and sauces are currently being cooked every day and partly filled by hand into the CO2-neutrally produced glass containers. Around 1,000 products leave the kitchen every day. Too much in too small a space, and since J.Kinski experienced a real boom during the pandemic, under difficult conditions for the team. For more than three years, there have therefore been plans for automation and optimization.
"We are committed to producing our products with the highest standards of quality, fairness and sustainability, but have now outgrown the 'foundation garage' ," says Daunke. " That's why we are looking for partners who share our vision and want to work with us to take the J.Kinski brand to the next level ."
About J.Kinski / Goodvenience.Bio GmbH
Kinski was founded in 2018 by former club operator, restaurant owner and food truck traveler Jörg Daunke and his wife Yvonne Diepold. The brand became known for fairly produced and traded food in Germany and was able to close a gaping hole on supermarket shelves - with Asian soups and sauces of the best organic quality and according to the strictest standards of sustainability and fairness. The majority of the ingredients come from organic farming, the electricity from renewable sources. The bones for the broths come from Hohenlohe pasture-fed cattle from the Schwäbisch Hall Farmers' Producer Association, from hens that have often already had a life as organic laying hens or from invasive species such as the Louisiana crayfish, which would otherwise be disposed of. Young animals are not used for ethical reasons.
Started as a direct-to-consumer business with an online shop, the products can now be purchased in organic stores such as Denn's and delicatessens.
Facts & figures, financial year 2023 :
- Sales: 1.8 million
- Employees: 12
- Assortment: 60 items (broths, sauces and spice mixtures)
- Items sold: approx. 350,000
Press contact:
Julius Bertram, 0152 535 96 501, julius@makiko.de
Valérie Hasenmayer, 0176 611 63 404, valerie@vivaequality.de