“On.perfekt” is the guiding principle of what will be Luxembourg’s first shop where you can buy high-quality ” second choice” groceries. At on.perfekt, produce that is otherwise considered of “lower quality” or not even considered at all by the big markets, gets a chance to shine. A clear first choice for conscious consumers, who don’t care that carrots might sometimes have four ends instead of one or that the best-before date on the yoghurt is today.
Straight out of the vegetable modelling industry
Too thin, too short, too small, too misshapen – a large proportion of potatoes, carrots and co. don’t even make it from the field to the store. If their appearance doesn’t fit the norm, the veggies are denied the catwalk of the big supermarkets. A widespread practice of food waste, that is just as common here in Luxembourg, even before the goods can be put on the shelves. Julia Gregor, Aline Hentz and Fabienne Faber wanted to do something about this and in 2020 came up with the idea of setting up a shop where you can buy precisely that: products rejected straight from the harvest and the supermarket. The kickoff came with the monthly pop-up market in Hosingen, which has been taking place regularly since autumn 2020. And with great success. The market is well attended, and the collaboration with regional farmers (fruit and vegetables) and Massen Epicerie (dairy products) works. They barely get time to restock their shelves.
A sense of value
It is first and foremost about appreciating the value of the food and its producers. The collaboration with the farmers is based on an agreement, whereby the members of on.perfekt either contribute to the harvest or provide financial compensation for the imperfect vegetables. Currently, that price is still below the market value of the standardised produce. However, the aim is to be able to pay farmers the same price for “crooked” produce as for “norm-conform” produce in the future. Because whether the carrot is perfect or imperfect, the underlying work remains the same and should receive equal financial recognition. Customers at the market (and in the prospective shop) are paying the “what-it-is-worth-to-me” rate, with a suggested benchmark as a guideline. Another step to raise awareness of one’s own sense of pricing and attributed value to the produce.
From A.s.b.l. to cooperative
Initially run as an A.s.b.l., on.perfekt has been a cooperative since 2021 and has recently been officially recognised as a social enterprise. This means that on.perfekt has the right to generate profit and is obliged to invest this income for social and ecological purposes. By now, there are 10 members and over 30 voluntary supporters of the cooperative. Now on.perfekt is about to take the next big step, which is to establish itself in a fixed venue. And for that, despite all the imperfectionism of the goods, they need a sound financing of 95,000 euros. For this reason, the on.perfekt team is currently launching a crowdfunding campaign, appealing for people to participate in the joint financing of the future “onperfekt-Buttek”.
Helping.perfect
The crowdfunding campaign lasts for 1 month, and will end on 18 February 2022. This campaign operates like a type of donation, the only difference being that when the project is completed, the donor receives a thank you in return – be it a shopping voucher at on.perfekt, or their own cookbook with a focus on “zero waste”, or a voice and/or a place to help at on.perfekt, for instance. The various methods of support are listed at www.startnext.com. Furthermore, it’ s a question of all or nothing, which is no secret about the idea of crowdfunding. If the total sum of money is collected, the individual donations are debited from the donors’ accounts and the project can move forward. If the targeted amount is not reached, the donors’ money is not debited and the planned project will not take place. We keep our fingers crossed for on.perfekt and if all goes well, you will read about Luxembourg’s first “On.perkfekt-Buttik” in the summer issue of Kachen.
More information: www.onperfekt.lu
