FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Über unseren Online-Marktplatz kannst du Bio-Lebensmittel aus regenerativem Anbau direkt bei den Produzent*innen bestellen. Fernab der industriellen Massenproduktion erhältst du Zugang zu authentischen Lebensmitteln aus einer Landwirtschaft frei von Pestiziden. Im Bereich der Frischprodukte (Früchte & Gemüse) importieren wir ausschliesslich, was von euch bestellt wurde. Bei den Vorratsprodukten setzen wir auf eine prognosebasierte Sammelbestellung mit rollierendem Lager in der Schweiz. So sorgen wir für eine gerechte Bezahlung der Bäuer*innen, verhindern, dass Lebensmittel verschwendet werden und schaffen transparente Lieferketten vom Feld bis auf deinen Teller. Dank uns weisst du stets, wer dein Essen produziert und wer wie viel daran verdient.

Is the entire range produced organically?

Our range comes from a resource-conserving and climate-friendly circular farming system that promotes variety and biodiversity and does not use synthetic chemical pesticides. All the food we offer is produced organically.

Why aren't all your products certified organic and Fairtrade?

Crowd Container deliberately refrains from displaying certificates and labels, as we have more trust in our direct relationships than in paper. In addition, certification often involves disproportionate effort for smaller producers, which ultimately benefits the certification industry more than the farmers themselves.

Although a label means that a minimum standard is met in certain areas, standardization does not make sense everywhere. We therefore prefer to rely on trusting relationships in the context of organic farming, where local conditions can also be taken into account in discussions with producers. Here you can find a blog post on the topic of certification using the example of coffee cultivation.

How does Crowd Container ensure that producers keep their promises?

At Crowd Container, we focus on the careful selection of producers and close, long-term contact. Instead of an annual audit - as is usual for certified products - we rely on constant dialog with the farmers and their willingness to receive spontaneous visits to their farms from us, our customers or other experts.

Our products also undergo strict quality controls on a regular basis. They are also tested in the laboratory for ecologically relevant parameters, which allow conclusions to be drawn about the use of pesticides, for example.

We cannot give a final guarantee that we will keep our promises, but we do guarantee open communication. Even on points that don't go as planned. We do not hide behind a label.

In principle, the producers decide at what price they want to sell their organically produced goods. Whenever possible, we draw up a production cost calculation with those responsible and decide together what a sustainable price is. Thanks to this so-called "bottom-up pricing", producers often achieve a multiple of the world market price for their products. In return, we receive high-quality food from small-scale, diversified production that comes from climate-friendly cultivation without pesticides. Our trading system therefore goes beyond the conventional understanding of "Fairtrade" and also ensures fair payment from the farmers' perspective, so that this forward-looking agriculture has a long-term perspective.