Since January 4, 2017, the Kaffeemacher have been their own GmbH. We have separated from our parent company, unternehmen mitte, and are taking the step into independence. The Kaffeemacher have, in a sense, come of age.
For 4 years we were able to develop, experiment, and gain clarity about what defines us and how we want to work. This has resulted in a clear picture, which we will pursue even more consistently with the new founding and independence.
Connecting and networking
As the objective of the new Kaffeemacher GmbH, we have stated in our articles of association that we want to work associatively and fairly across the entire coffee value chain.
On the one hand, we will continue to be active with our own initiatives, especially in training and education, around the topic of coffee. We began with training in the gastronomy sector, and recently have also been training more and more roasteries. In the future, we want to become even more active in coffee-producing countries through training and networking.
Beyond that, the Kaffeemacher will also participate in cafés, roasteries, and farms; in terms of content, networking, and as shareholders.
In doing so, we want to continue to act neutrally on the coffee market as Kaffeemacher GmbH and work in a connecting manner – between specialty and commercial, between Arabica and Robusta, between full and semi-automatic machines, between barista and producer, etc.
Social business and purpose-driven
We have designed the Kaffeemacher GmbH as "non-profit," although we do not mean this in the tax law sense. The GmbH operates in a purpose- and objective-oriented manner, not profit-oriented. We see profit as a tool for fulfilling our purpose. By statute, profit cannot be privatized, and shareholders can only exit the GmbH with the nominal value of their shares. In other words, the company's profit is reinvested and used across the entire coffee value chain in accordance with the articles of association. For us, fair compensation is the priority, since the margins in the coffee-growing countries are significantly lower than in the countries with the highest consumption at the end of the chain.
The Kaffeemacher GmbH begins with two shareholders. Benjamin Hohlmann is the principal shareholder and managing director of Kaffeemacher GmbH. Felix Hohlmann is also a shareholder of Kaffeemacher GmbH as managing director of Café frühlings, which will become a subsidiary of Kaffeemacher GmbH in the future.
Within the framework of Kaffeemacher GmbH, new projects should be able to develop, which, once strong enough to stand on their own feet, can become independent companies. The condition for this is that they set themselves up in the manner described above and understand profit as a means to fulfill their business purpose. The purpose should always revolve around people and coffee. Then we are on this journey together.
In recent years, the Kaffeemacher have become a platform and community of coffee trainers, experts, partner companies, and baristas. Many work in different companies and share their passion and knowledge with the Kaffeemacher.
We look forward to many great coffees, good collaboration, and intensive exchange,
Benjamin and Felix Hohlmann for the Kaffeemacher
