2023-12-25 18:37:12
A kilogram of roasted almonds in a visually unappealing blue plastic bag – it would hardly sell in the supermarket, but it would in the KoRo online shop. The Berlin start-up offers dried fruits in kilo bags and nut butters in 500 gram jars. “The almond supplier initially didn’t want to deliver in this ugly blue garbage bag,” says KoRo founder Constantinos Calios. “But for us it was perfect.” Because at KoRo the packaging should not be beautiful, but rather large.
In 2014, Calios – who everyone at KoRo calls just Kosta – founded the company together with his then business partner Robert Schyska. The name KoRo is made up of the first letters of their first names. At that time, the company was still an online drugstore for detergents. But they quickly realized that dates and nuts sold much better than washing powder. Sales grew, the company became more professional, but co-founder Robert Schyska wanted to leave. Piran Asci took his place, and Florian Schwenkert joined in 2020. Together, Calios, Asci and Schwenkert form the management of KoRo.
“We simply have to become product experts”
The idea of large packaging existed from the beginning. KoRo tries to keep its supply chains as lean as possible and avoid unnecessary intermediate steps such as repackaging the goods. “That’s why the large packaging, because it can be packaged directly at the manufacturer. “That’s not possible with small, beautifully printed 200-gram packs,” says Schwenkert. That’s why the design of the products is simple and the label is kept simple so that any supplier can print it. “In the supply chain, around 80 percent of the communication is usually spent on the packaging, so we are significantly more efficient,” says Calios. In addition to the logistical effort, multiple filling and repackaging would result in additional plastic waste and the quality of the products would suffer. So KoRo offers the roasted almonds from the Netherlands in the online shop as they come from the supplier – in a blue plastic bag.
What the company saves in terms of work in the packaging process flows even more into the details of product development: should it be Iranian or American pistachios, and which degree of roasting is the right one? “There are a lot of detailed questions that we ask ourselves. We just have to become product experts,” says Calios. Every product has its own supply chain. KoRo is now also developing its own recipes, for example for a date-hazelnut cream or vegan protein bars with brownie flavor. During development, the team first looks at what comparable products are available on the market. “We tried lots and lots of protein bars,” remembers Schwenkert. “There were a lot of disgusting ones, but we tried them all and tried to find out what actually makes a really good protein bar.”
KoRo now also develops its own products – such as pistachio puree. : Image: Jens Gyarmaty
The aim is to make KoRo bars a little healthier, more sustainable and tastier than those of the competition. The Berlin start-up does not see itself as a superfood provider. The keyword is conscious nutrition. KoRo offers food and snacks for customers who value high-quality ingredients and who care about what they consume.
This is popular, especially with young people between 25 and 35 years old. This is hardly surprising, as the average age of employees is just 28 years old. Calios, aged 35, and Schwenkert, aged 33, are almost old hands in the office. Especially in the early stages, when the budget was still small, many employees were hired directly by the university. The founder is also proud of this: “We have former interns here who now lead teams of up to 60 people,” says Calios.
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