How we work at genussland

For us, sustainability is not a trend, but a conviction

When we talk about sustainability, it's not because it's currently fashionable or expected on a company website. We talk about it because it's at the core of what we've been doing since 2002. When we founded our gourmet food delivery service, our focus from the very beginning was on good food – and good food only exists when nature, people, and animals are treated with respect.

For us, sustainability doesn't mean putting a single seal on our website and ticking that box. It means taking responsibility in every area of our company: in the selection of our products, in the operation of our warehouses and offices, in the shipping of your order, and in how we handle food that is nearing its best-before date. Some things we already do very well, while others we are still working on. This honesty is part of who we are.

In the following sections, we will show you what exactly we do – transparently, comprehensibly, and without greenwashing.

Renewable energy: Solar power and geothermal energy for our operations

An online shop for gourmet food and wine needs space – and energy. Our two warehouses and offices in Nordhorn store numerous delicacies, many of which are temperature-sensitive. Chocolate, wine, olive oil, fruit spreads, and many other products must be stored under optimal conditions all year round. This requires cooling in summer and heating in winter – and this is precisely where we come in.

Geothermal energy: Natural temperature control without fossil fuels

Our two warehouses and offices are temperature-controlled with geothermal energy. This geothermal system uses the constant temperature of the earth to heat our premises in winter and cool them in summer. This means we don't need natural gas, heating oil, or a conventional air conditioning system to store our products at optimal temperatures all year round. Geothermal energy operates quietly, efficiently, and almost emission-free.

Especially for a gourmet food delivery service, this is an enormous advantage: our chocolates survive the summer just as undamaged as our wines do the winter – and all without fossil energy. The investment in geothermal energy was a conscious decision for long-term sustainability rather than short-term cost savings.

Photovoltaics: 60 kWp of solar power from our own roof

We have installed photovoltaic systems with a total output of 2 × 30 kWp on the roofs of our two warehouses. This 60 kWp of solar power supplies a large part of our operations with clean, self-generated energy – from warehouse lighting and order picking to the entire IT infrastructure that keeps our online shop running.

Any electricity we don't use ourselves on sunny days is used to charge our electric company cars. This closes the loop: solar power from the roof flows directly into our team's mobility. No detours via the public grid, no fossil fuels – pure surplus electricity from our own generation.

Electromobility: Our company cars run on solar power

Our company cars are electric. And they are primarily charged with the surplus electricity from our PV systems. This means that when the sun shines on our roofs and more electricity is generated than we currently need for operations, this electricity flows directly into the batteries of our vehicles.

For us, this is not a prestige project, but a logical consequence. If you have the opportunity to generate clean energy yourself, then you should also use it where it makes the biggest difference. As a result, our daily journeys – whether to the post office, to local suppliers, or to appointments – are almost CO₂-free.

Organic certified: Our commitment to organic food

Our shop is organic certified. This means that we are authorized to trade organic products and are subject to the strict regulations of the EU Organic Regulation. Regular checks by independent auditing bodies ensure that we consistently comply with the requirements for labeling, storage, and traceability.

We offer a growing range of organic-certified products – from olive oils and fruit spreads to tea and coffee, and wines from organic or biodynamic cultivation. What's important to us is that organic is an important quality feature, but not the only one. Some of our small manufacturers work according to the highest ecological standards but do not carry an official seal – either because certification is not economically viable for a micro-enterprise, or because the producer works in a region where different quality standards apply.

Therefore, we always look behind the label: How is it actually produced? What ingredients are used? How does the manufacturer deal with its resources? These questions are at least as important to us as a seal on the packaging.

Short supply chains: Directly from the producer to you

A central component of our sustainability strategy is short, transparent supply chains. We purchase the majority of our products directly from the manufacturer – without intermediaries, without detours, without anonymous supply chains.

What does this mean in concrete terms? If you order an olive oil from Portugal from us, we have sourced this oil directly from the oil mill. We know the producer, we have seen his olive groves, we know how he works. If you buy a fruit spread from South Tyrol, it comes from a family business that we have known personally for years and visit regularly.

This direct purchase has several advantages for sustainability. Transport routes are shorter and more transparent because the goods do not travel via several wholesalers and intermediate warehouses. Value creation remains with the producer because no intermediary skims off a part of the margin. The small family business receives a fair price for its product and can live from it, continuing to produce with the highest quality and respect for nature.

Over more than two decades, we have built and nurtured this network. Kerstin was the managing director of the association of leading delicatessen merchants in Germany and brings deep industry knowledge. Chambers of commerce and economic development agencies from all over Europe regularly connect us with producers who want to offer their high-quality products on the German market. This is how we constantly discover new, exciting manufacturers who share our values.

Packaging and shipping: As sustainable as possible, as safe as necessary

Shipping gourmet food and wine online presents a particular challenge: the products must arrive safely and undamaged to the customer. Wine bottles, jam jars, chip bags, chocolate, and cookware in one package – that requires thoughtful packaging. At the same time, we want to use as little material as possible and pack as sustainably as possible.

Recycled and reusable materials

We consistently rely on recycled and reusable packaging materials. Our shipping boxes are made from recycled cardboard. We use paper and cardboard as void fill instead of plastic. Our packaging chips – the small cushions that protect your products in the package – are completely compostable. You can dispose of them without hesitation in the organic waste bin or on the compost. Packaging material that we receive from our suppliers – boxes, void fill, cushioning – we reuse whenever possible instead of throwing it away. This way, packaging often gets a second or third life with us.

Chilled shipping with paper instead of plastic

We are particularly proud of our chilled shipping system. Where many online retailers use styrofoam boxes and plastic ice packs, we use a paper-based solution. Our chilled packaging works with paper insulation – a system that reliably cools temperature-sensitive products like butter, burrata, or cheese and is also completely recyclable. No styrofoam that remains in the environment for decades, but paper that can simply go into the paper recycling.

Bubble wrap is only used in rare exceptions when there is no equivalent plastic-free alternative. The vast majority of our orders leave our warehouse completely without plastic cushioning material.

Climate-neutral shipping

We ship your order climate-neutrally. This means that the CO₂ emissions generated during the transport of your package are offset by certified climate protection projects. We know that compensation is not the perfect solution – it would be better if transport caused no emissions at all. But as long as that is not possible, compensation is an important step in the right direction.

At the same time, we do everything we can to reduce emissions at the source: through efficient warehouse organization that avoids unnecessary partial deliveries, through optimized package sizes, and through our own energy concept with photovoltaics and electromobility.

Against food waste: Enjoy instead of discard

Every year, millions of tons of food are thrown away in Germany – often just because the best-before date has expired. But "best before" means exactly that: at least. It is not an expiration date, but a guarantee from the manufacturer that the product retains its full quality until this date. In the vast majority of cases, food is perfectly edible far beyond this date.

At genussland, we find it unbearable to simply throw away carefully produced delicacies. That's why we created our Sale section. There you will find products whose best-before date will be reached in the foreseeable future, or items with slight packaging damage – for example, a small dent in the box or a torn label. The contents, of course, are not affected.

We offer these products at reduced prices. This way, you get high-quality gourmet food at a special price, and we prevent good food from ending up in the trash. We don't engage in discount battles with sensational percentages – we offer fair, honest prices. This applies to the regular assortment as well as the Sale.

Become a food saver: Perhaps you will discover your new favorite product in our Sale section – one you might never have tried at the regular price. This way, sustainability becomes a culinary adventure.

Our producers: Sustainability throughout the supply chain

Sustainability doesn't end at our warehouse door. It begins where our products are created – in the fields, in the orchards, in the oil mills, in the manufactories and wineries of our producers.

When we add a new product to our range, we ask many questions. How is it produced? Where do the raw materials come from? How does the manufacturer deal with its soil, water, and energy? Are employees paid fairly? Is animal welfare respected? We quickly notice whether someone works sustainably out of conviction or whether sustainability is just a marketing label.

Many of our long-standing partners are role models in sustainability – often long before it received public recognition. Winemakers who cultivate their vineyards organically or biodynamically. Fruit growers who focus on old varieties and respect the natural rhythm of nature. Olive growers who care for their centuries-old groves instead of switching to mass production. Manufactories that work by hand and in small batches instead of producing industrial quantities.

This type of production is inherently more sustainable than industrial mass production. Smaller quantities mean less resource consumption. Craftsmanship means less energy input. Regional raw materials mean shorter transport routes. And the appreciation for one's own product means that nothing is wasted.

When you shop at genussland, you not only support your own enjoyment, but also an economic approach that prioritizes quality over quantity. Respect over exploitation. People over machines.

Animal welfare and fair agriculture

Wherever animal products play a role in our assortment, we ensure responsible treatment of animals. This applies to cheese and butter as well as salami and ham, honey or meat products for grilling.

We prefer to work with producers who practice species-appropriate animal husbandry. Small farms where the animals have free range, receive natural feed, and live under conditions that correspond to their nature. We are convinced: You can taste the difference. A cheese from cows grazing on an alpine pasture tastes different from an industrial product. A salami from pigs kept in small groups has a different quality than mass-produced goods.

Here, too, we look closely and ask questions. Not all of our producers carry an official animal welfare label, but everyone we include in our assortment must meet our standards for respectful treatment of animals.

Our path: Honest, not perfect

We don't want to promise anything on this page that we can't deliver. Sustainability is a journey, not a destination that you reach at some point and can check off. There are areas where we are proud of what we have achieved: our energy supply with geothermal energy and photovoltaics, our electric company cars, our direct relationships with producers, our commitment against food waste.

And there are areas where we want to do even better. We are working to further reduce the plastic content in our packaging materials. When selecting new producers, we are constantly raising the bar for sustainability. And we are constantly looking for new ways to further reduce our ecological footprint.

What drives us is the conviction that good food and responsible handling of our environment are not opposites – but two sides of the same coin. The best products are created where people and nature work in harmony. And these are precisely the products we want to make accessible to you.

If you have any questions about our sustainability measures or suggestions for us, please feel free to contact us. Because sustainability thrives on exchange – and on people who care.

Kerstin and Stephan Uhlenbusch