The mother of all workarounds
And the prize for the most over-engineered workaround goes to…..The German retailers!
Germany’s institutional resistance to evolving its trading hour laws has reached new heights with chilled vending machines landing in supermarket car parks.
Food system innovation isn’t just needed in the supply chains, it’s also required at the point of access.
Vending is not a meaningful mass-market solution for customers due to the huge limits on choice, it is also a step in the wrong direction for sustainability as it will increase food waste and energy use, both of which the retailers are meant to be hyper-focused on reducing.
The sentiment amongst Germans I've spoken to over the years cite Sunday as ‘Family Day’, which must be protected and preserved at all costs. However, for all this prescribed family time, Germany’s divorce rates, domestic violence rates and depression numbers are in line with nations that trade on Sundays.
Back in 2021, the German authorities applied labour laws dating back to 1956 to ban Quick-Commerce retailers from Sunday trading, and this vending concept seeks to circumnavigate this by providing a ‘labour-free’ outlet for Sunday shoppers. Inspired by Quick-Commerce, the retailers have gone to the effort of building an app to access and operate the vending machines, however as anyone familiar with chilled food knows very well, real-time, micro-site stock management will be impossible to achieve. At least with Quick-Commerce, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home to be disappointed that the 1 fresh ingredient you actually wanted is out of stock.
The solution to our customer satisfaction and climate challenges lies in-store, just open the doors.
Summer 2024