Food from here

LOKAL – Basel

food of the daily need

Interview with Esther Lohri, Managing Director of LOKAL

What is your recipe for success?

I sell good food in my shop. Something that everyone needs to live. That’s why I’m not dependent on advertising. I don’t have to lure new customers into my shop to sell them something they don’t need. LOKAL is a shop for the neighbourhood and for everyone who wants to know how and where the food they eat is produced.

What differentiates your shop from others in your industry?

LOKAL is a small grocery store, as there are dozens in Kleinbasel. The big difference is that you can find locally handmade food here, instead of industrial food from all over the world.

Which service is best received by your customers?

I believe that the size of the shop and the familiarity is what retains customers and makes it possible that our youngest regular customers are five years old and come shopping by themselves.

This is one of the reasons why I don’t want the store to expand.

Are there any items in your product range that are particularly popular as gifts?

Actually all of them. If you sell good food, there’s almost nothing you can do wrong.

What do you wish for your company?

I don’t intend to enlarge my shop, but I would like to share the idea and the network of local food producers with other companies. I hope that the awareness for a fair and ecological food consumption will grow. That the local food supply will become standard and hence that it does not have to be emphasized anymore.

What are you often asked by your customers?

Is this an organic shop? Personally, I have trouble with the term „organic“. Since the term does not automatically guarantee environmentally friendly and animal-friendly food production, which many people still take for granted. I therefore try to avoid the term „organic“ whenever it is possible and also do not use it for marketing purposes.

Interview: MyCityShops, csh, 2018

Tips from the expert

Visit one of the many farmers and food producers who grow and process the food you eat every day. You will shop differently, eat differently and enjoy differently.

Fair Food

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About LOKAL

The somewhat different food shop in Kleinbasel promotes local cycles (monetary, logistical, ecological). With your purchase you become a co-producer and thus an important part of the cycle.

At LOKAL, you will find good, clean, and fair food from over 80 small Swiss producers. Good food is tasty, healthy and part of the local culture. During production, clean food is economical in the use of resources. Thus it has little or no impact on ecosystems and the environment, and causes as little damage as possible to animals and nature. Fair food is socially fair and characterized by fair payment and fair conditions for all who work on it.