Nine years after its launch, the once-successful project of the startup scene has gone bankrupt. The operation of the Germany wide nine branches should continue.
When the first Kochhaus store opened in Schöneberg in 2010, the walk-in recipe book caused a sensation, as the founders described their concept. There was hardly a medium that did not report on this startup. Also inn 2012 it was awarded the German Founder Award.
The idea of the startup was food is not arranged according to product groups, but according to recipe ideas. And in the right amount and with the appropriate cooking instructions. So should also Koch-Muffel be brought to the stove. In addition, customers could purchase cooking supplies, recipe books and gift boxes or attend cooking classes.
Employees should be able to keep jobs
Now, the company filed a petition for bankruptcy at the District Court of Charlottenburg. The reason for the bankruptcy was described in a statement of the following. It had the time for a restructuring with the financing banks and an agreement with a new investor which is missing.
The operation of the Germany wide nine branches in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich should go on. The 190 employees should be able to keep their jobs for the time being. Wages and salaries of the employees are to be pre-financed by the insolvency money. The company be restructured in the long term.
Competition in the online sector
What plans Kochhaus pursues in this regard is not yet known. Kochhaus is likely to struggle above all with the numerous competitors that have developed in recent years in the market, including online providers such as Hello Fresh. The Berliners follow a similar concept and send finished portioned food boxes and prescriptions to their customers. Kochhaus, in spite of having its own online shop in the past, relied primarily on stationary retailing.
Also published on Medium.