2023 - A balancing act between the romance of Heidiland and the reality on the field

Healthy soils, a genuine taste and total transparency in the food chain - that's what we stand for. 2023 was an important stage in this marathon and at the same time an eternal balancing act between ideas: Society wants to see a romanticized Heidiland economy that does not harm the environment. At the same time, food from mindful production has its price and the work behind it is not a leisure activity. You appreciate these efforts and recognize the complexity. We are very proud of how we have mastered the last year together.

131 hectares of sustainable agriculture

Today, our food is available practically everywhere and at any time. On supermarket shelves, food from one-sided agriculture, standardized and anonymously produced, predominates. We often no longer know how our food was grown or produced. How much manual labor is required for certain foods and how difficult the working conditions in the fields can be. With Crowd Container, we offer an alternative: more diversity in the field and on the plate as well as direct contact with producers so that a genuine exchange can take place and misconceptions can be resolved. In 2023, we reached over 712,000 people with our messages on sustainable production and nutrition. At the same time, last year you ordered 182 tons of food worth 1.5 million Swiss francs through us, thus enabling more than 131 hectares of sustainable agriculture. At 44%, by far the largest share of revenue flowed back to the producers. Logistics costs again accounted for 27%. At around 29%, our gross margin remained just below our target of 30%.

Together with you, we are moving in the right direction and showing what is possible. Because smaller farms, manufactories and businesses have practically no access to the market with their barely standardized food and small harvests. This not only jeopardizes their existence, but also small-scale and organic forms of agriculture as well as the survival of old varieties and high-quality foods, which are characterized by unique taste instead of uniformity.

"Thanks to Crowd Container, we as a diverse smallholder farm have a voice and access to the market".

Sara and Patrick from the organic farm in Wilen near Neuforn

Together with you, our approach of 100% transparent trade has proven itself far beyond the initial successes. By paying a cost-covering price, you enable the sowing of diverse varieties, the cultivation of mixed crops, the maintenance of agroforestry systems and the closing of cycles on innovative farms.

The new generation of agriculture

Our producers were also our greatest inspiration in 2023: so many promising farms and cooperatives from all over the world worked with us last year. Always with a shared understanding of sustainable agriculture and the drive to change the status quo. First and foremost, for example, the young and impressive producer Elena Cassisi from Sicily, who represents a new generation of farming. We are delighted to have been able to count this inspiring woman among our network of producers since 2023. Elena Cassisi visited us in person in Switzerland in the summer and told us about her work, her challenges and her role as a woman in male-dominated agriculture. Click here for the blog post incl. video.

"I firmly believe that together we can create biodiversity and a fair food market!"

Farmer Elena Cassisi from Sicily

Great media interest for our first Zurich hazelnuts

Why are hardly any hazelnuts grown in Switzerland, even though they are so popular here as a snack or in chocolate and the hazelnut is still native to the country? Why do over 80 percent of the nuts eaten in this country come from Turkey, where working conditions are often poor and supply chains are not transparent? And why do only very few farmers dare to grow hazelnuts, even though our climate is actually quite good for them? We also asked ourselves these questions and, together with the young farmer and biologist Stefan Gerber, successfully launched the Hazelnut project started in Mettmenstetten. The first 50 kilograms of hazelnuts were harvested and sold in 2023. You can read all about our pioneering work in Switzerland and the surprises and hurdles we have encountered so far in our Interview with Stefan Gerber. We were particularly pleased with the high level of media interest in 2023 and the articles in the SonntagsZeitung, in the Swiss farmer and above all the beautiful report in the magazine Bioterra.

"Together with the Crowd Container Community, I am collecting knowledge about 65 different hazelnut varieties. We want to establish the cultivation of hazelnuts in Switzerland and find out which varieties are compatible with each other."

Hazelnut farmer and biologist Stefan Gerber from Mettmenstetten ZH (left)

Over 450 participants at 13 events

Personal exchange - this is what we have always focused on in 2023. Over 450 participants took part in 13 events organized by us last year. They discussed today's food consumption at FoodTalks in various cities, sampled our diverse products at various tavolata evenings or worked on one of our partner farms. We remained particularly touched and thoughtful at the Tavolata Speciale in March, when former field worker and political activist Yvan Sagnet told us about his fight against exploitation in agriculture in southern Italy.

"Even before the journey, you understand the hell that awaits you. Then, when the work begins, there is another, double hell."

Yvan Sagnet, former field worker and political activist

Food Forest in Sicily with over 27 bird species

It is a project close to our hearts in Sicily: in the so-called Food Forest in 2020, we planted several hundred trees, subtropical plants such as avocados, hedges and vegetables on the same area in order to establish a sustainable cultivation system. The result is now a large-scale permaculture project whose impact on the environment we are also monitoring scientifically. 2023 was all about biodiversity. Rafael da Silveira Bueno, our local project manager and ecologist at the University of Palermo, presented us with the first interim scientific results and answered seven questions for the community. Everything in this blog post!

However, one fly in the ointment remains: the social cooperative NOE, which has leased the land for the Food Forest, is under great political pressure. It is uncertain whether our partners will be able to farm the land in the future. We also have their Petition and are doing everything we can to pursue this promising project.

Sense as our Drive

We want to change the way food is produced, traded and consumed in the world today - always with the aim of getting closer to our vision of a diverse, climate-positive agriculture. We see this strong and vibrant purpose as the foundation of a modern and, above all, human working culture. We have therefore reorganized our team holacratically in 2023. This means that we no longer operate in the traditional hierarchical model with a boss at the top, but work in a self-organized way with responsible roles and responsibilities. We are doing very well with this organizational model today and can release a lot of positive energy. And something else happened in 2023: We moved into our very own office for the first time and are now based in Zurich Wiedikon.

Together with you, we want to create prospects for committed producers and bring more taste and variety to your plates. Thank you for being on board!

Flavor

You get access to food with an unadulterated taste.

Healthy soil

All products come from diverse agriculture free of pesticides.

Transparency

We create 100% transparent supply chains from the field to your plate.

Direct

Delivered directly to you by our trusted producers without any intermediaries.