BreadValue - Cross-media consumer communication for bakery customers: Joint project between the university-affiliated Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) and Ludwigshafen-based baker Görtz GmbH to combat food waste and promote greater appreciation of high-quality bread and baked goods is nearing its degree.
Together with Bäcker Görtz GmbH, Ludwigshafen, the Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) at Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU) is developing and testing communication measures aimed at bakery customers in order to increase knowledge and appreciation of high-quality baked goods and reduce bread waste in households. The project, which was launched in September 2022, is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and supported by the Zentralverband des Deutschen Bäckerhandwerks e.V. (German Bakers' Association).
Based on findings from other projects and studies, our own consumer survey and company experience, various digital and analog communication measures have been developed and put into practice since the spring of this year. The project is currently entering the home straight, but various activities will continue until the end of the year in parallel with the evaluation of the project results.
Yesterday, company boss Peter Görtz and IMI Institute Director Prof. Dr. Dieter Thomaschewski, flanked by Anabel Görtz, Assistant to the Management Board, and Görtz Marketing Manager Katja Thieme, presented the project in more detail at the bakery's Rheingönheim headquarters: Thomaschewski first outlined the initial situation: according to a study by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), up to 78 kg of food per capita and year ends up in the garbage bin of private households in Germany. Bread and baked goods account for 13% of this. The reasons for this are revealed by the results of an online consumer survey of regional bakery customers conducted by IMI in cooperation with baker Görtz:Bread is often thrown away as soon as it appears hard and dry, even though it is still perfectly edible In addition, people often buy more than they need, and this happens more often to men than women. Another problem is incorrect storage, which causes bread to age more quickly and ultimately spoil. The project partners IMI and Görtz are countering this with an information campaign that educates consumers in an entertaining way about the important staple food bread, gives tips on ideal storage and offers ways to use leftovers - "without any moralizing", as Dieter Thomaschewski and Peter Görtz explain in unison. The two hope that this triad will lead to a greater appreciation of high-quality baked goods and a greater awareness of how to handle food in the long term.
Bakery customers are informed both analog and digitally: digitally via the bakery's website, its app and social media channels; analog via in-store promotions, poster campaigns, tablet displays, postal coupons and printed bags. A multi-part quiz on bread knowledge, production and consumption as well as sustainable handling was particularly well received by customers. An interactive quantity calculator for celebrations with guests was also very popular. In the period from February to August 2024 alone, 80,000 visits were made to the "Bread Value" pages on the Görtz website, says Thomaschewski.
But doesn't the commitment to sustainable consumption contradict the commercial interests of bakeries? No, says Görtz Managing Director Peter Görtz: "My baker's heart beats stronger here than my salesman's heart. "Our intention is not for our products to be thrown away."
A further survey will now be carried out in the fourth quarter of this year to gather feedback from consumers at the project's Degree. The results will then be published and made freely available. There are also plans to transfer the project to other areas, such as meat consumption. Cooperation with schools is also a possibility in the future, according to Professor Thomaschewski.
The Görtz bakery:
Founded in 1963 and based in Ludwigshafen-Rheingönheim, the Görtz bakery is one of the market leaders in the metropolitan area Rhine-Neckar with 110,000 customers a day, 220 branches within a radius of around 50 km, around 1,800 employees and annual sales of 190 million euros.
The Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI):
The Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) is a scientific institution of HWG LU that has been in existence since 2015. Headed by Prof. Dr. Dieter Thomaschewski and Prof. Dr. Rainer Völker, the Institute's research focuses on the areas of management, innovation, sustainability and economic analysis.
Further information at: https://imi.hwg-lu.de/projekte/oeffentliche-foerderung/brotwert/ and https://www.baeckergoertz.de/brotwert/brotwert-das-projekt/
Specialist contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI)
Prof. Dr. Dieter Thomaschewski
Scientific Director
Tel. 0621/5203-464
E-Mail: dieter.thomaschewski@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de
Philipp Tachkov
Project Manager Brotwert
Tel. 0621/5203-259
E-mail: philipp.tachkov@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de
