After its founding in 2014, the first Haferkater store opened in Berlin-Friedrichshain, one of the most sustainable neighborhoods in the capital. The idea of the founders Leandro Burguete, Anna Schubert, and Levin Siert: a bowl of organic porridge to go, to start the day well-nourished with a healthy breakfast. However, offering only breakfast is challenging, as the founder reports. But now there are Haferkater locations all over Germany, often at train stations. In addition to various sweet and savory porridges, Haferkater also offers coffee, sandwiches, and salads.
Porridge was less known at the time of founding and not available as a takeaway product. Instead of taking along little filling and overly sweet pastries from the bakery, the porridge with fruits, nuts, and other toppings is meant to be a healthy alternative, explains Leandro Burguete. The staff crush the organic oats delivered daily and cook the porridge in the Scottish way with water and salt. The advantage is that the base is thus vegan and less sweet.
Despite difficult phases, especially regarding economic viability, the founders have no doubts about the concept. And unlike other companies, the Haferkater team not only focuses on its sustainability but also on its "unsustainability," meaning what is not yet sustainable. The team writes a whole report about this. Leandro Burguete believes that it is not enough to only report how great and sustainable a company is. There are always opportunities for improvement. However, finding the balance between ecological and social sustainability is not easy, for example, with pricing. Nevertheless, the founders want to maintain this honesty, as they are convinced that customers also notice it indirectly.
