About a month ago we saw Andrea Lunzer connecting with a number of fellow members around the HUB, asking them to monitor their bread consumption and waste in a “Bread Journal”. Here’s the story of a new collaboration born in the HUB, which we hope you will enjoy as much as we did and support the awesome sustainability all-star team to go big.
HUB: So Andrea, what’s the story behind “I Love Brot”?
Andrea Lunzer: I am at the HUB with the UNFOLD project, which is an initiative for sustainable packaging. But as I am a marketing person I also offer marketing consulting. Kathrina Dankl, product designer and service designer working at the HUB, approached me about a project she was starting on minimizing food waste. She was bringing together an interdisciplinary team of sustainability, eco and business advisors to tackle the problem of food waste in a small bakery in Vienna – Felzl Bäkerei. They have three shops, produce everything locally and the owner was open and crazy enough to say yes to the project pilot without knowing what would come out of it. I took the marketing part, Angie Rattay from Neongreen Network is doing the graphics, Kahtrina is managing the project and the design part, Wolfgang Wimmer from ECODESIGN is in charge with the sustainability part, Thomas Hruschka is the business consultant. And of course Horst Felzl from the bakery, who is a passionate baker with a strong interest in sustainability.
HUB: How does the project work?
AL: The goal of “I Love Brot” is to minimize food waste, especially bread and bakery products. We started by looking at what kind and quantities of waste there are at the bakery but also at the consumer’s, using different methods to analyze the amount and the frequency of the waste. The data we collect will be the basis for alternative products or services to reduce this waste and also grab it at the root. We will probably mostly focus on designing services, since Kathrina has this very strong service design approach.
HUB: Are you also planning on going beyond the Felzl bakery or is this a project just for them?
AL: This is a pilot project that will run for one and a half years. The aim is to form a business model using the same methods and team to approach other social and ecological problems.
HUB: Going back to the dream team behind the project – Kathrina, Angie and yourself are all HUB members, and so is Sandra Kozeschnik, your partner in UNFOLD. How did you guys connect?
AL: I met Angie through her events, then again through Kathrina, whom I met here, right in the beginning when I started at the HUB. All the tables were taken so I sat next to her, in two or three words we got to “ah, we should talk” and then “hey, let’s see”. It was immediately clear that I wanted to work with her. We have a very similar approach and values.
HUB: You’ve been a member for one year and already found two great projects you’re working on. You met Kathrina over a table shortage, Sandra over an IdeaLab workshop… What do you put in your networking potion that makes things happen so smoothly?
AL: I think it’s just about being open for these things. The HUB is like a leisure park where I actually work and can be very concentrated but still have this openness to interact loosely and easily with people. It allows things to fall into place and flow. Sandra wasn’t up for packaging design. She didn’t even know about it. But still there was something similar that worked between us so well that she came on board. All in all I’m very grateful to have found new projects I’m really passionate about and can also live off comfortably. Most people out there have tedious jobs with good money, or follow their dreams but don’t dare calculate how much they make per hour because it would be a ridiculous amount. When you get to do something you love that is also appreciated financially it’s awesome.
HUB: How can fellow HUBbers support the “I Love Brot” project?
AL: Follow Felzl on facebook, go to their website and download the journal – it’s a very interesting exercise to do: even if the study is over, it’s still interesting to keep track of your habits, it gets you thinking and can tell you a lot about how you deal with food.
Do you have a cool collaboration story? Don’t be shy! Contact Sandra Ghitescu to schedule an interview, we want to spread the word!