Äss-Bar – United Against Food Waste
It all began back in 2013 with a simple idea: The bread and baked goods of yesterday should be given a second chance and consumed instead of being thrown into the trash can. Today, the Äss-Bar"project" is still regarded as a pioneer of the anti-food-waste movement in Switzerland.
Every evening of every day, countless loaves of bread, croissants and sandwiches end up in the trash can. Many people now realise that these edibles are still in perfectly consumable condition and far too good to simply throw away.
The four founders were inspired by similar enterprises in Germany and France. Äss-Bar struck a chord with the times – and it was for this reason that Äss-Bar made it its mission to offer bread and baked goods from yesterday to the man and woman of today.
Employees are out bright and early collecting yesterday's baked goods from various local bakeries and thus "rescuing" several hundred tons of food – and that's not just good for the environment, it's also good for the purse, because these goods are then offered for sale at bargain prices.
Everything from yesterday?
On entering one of the branches, you're immediately greeted by a vast array of the finest baked goods, delightful pastries and a full rack of choice breads, all neatly labelled with expert information – just like in a "real" bakery, but with a much wider selection. After all, where else can you choose between five different cream slices? It's no surprise, then, that the question: "Excuse me, which of these products are from yesterday?" often crops up.
Fresh from yesterday!
Fast-forward eight years and Äss-Bar has branches in nine locations with more than 90 employees, including its franchise partners in French-speaking Switzerland and the Bern region.
The range of products on offer has also expanded over the years. An Äss-Bar pilot project involving cheese and dairy products that can no longer be sold retail due to short best-before dates is currently underway. And the future promises great things, too – an online store is set to make the assortment available to an even greater number of customers, and the ordering of finger-food and the catering request process are to be simplified.
A huge thanks goes out to Nadja and Ässbar!
