Good Market - Eat Good, Do Good, Feel Good
Good Market supports local farmers by buying surplus and optically imperfect vegetables in a fair way and offering them in the form of vegetable rescue boxes to local individuals or wholesale to food processors and restaurateurs. Our goal is to create a profitable solution for nature, farmers and consumers - less waste and less CO2 emissions. Every purchase contributes to how we manage our natural resources.
Who are the people behind the project and what is your background?
Boaz (29) and Raphael (29), childhood friends, are the driving force behind the project. In 3 years, they saved 20 tons of vegetables. Caspar Eberhard from Werkstatt für Digitales provides digital support, while Marco Meneghin from the OM Group assists with marketing efforts.
How did your idea come into being?
Boaz and Raphael, childhood friends, embarked on their first joint project, Centrale Végétale, a vegan zero-waste café in Zurich-Enge from 2020 to 2022. Their aim was to create a space for conscious consumption, offering workshops such as meditation and yoga to complement the café, embracing a holistic concept. Initially starting with a take-away service, they produced empanadas using rescued organic vegetables. When a chef in the same building expressed interest in the rescued produce, the idea for a marketplace for non-standard vegetables was born. Over the first 2 years, they delved deep into the challenges of food waste within the food chain, engaging with farmers, the scientific community, restaurateurs, and wholesalers. After 2 and a half years and 20 tons of saved vegetables, Good Market GmbH was founded with a sole focus on creating an alternative marketplace for non-standard produce.
What is your idea to impactfully design a climate positive FOODprint for Switzerland?
As a flexible and alternative market, we give overlooked produce a second chance. Collaborating with farmers, we rescue surplus and visually imperfect vegetables. Through our platform, we promote these products, reducing waste and the environmental footprint. Our flexibility and efforts to expand the market strengthen awareness of sustainable nutrition and make the food supply in Switzerland more efficient and sustainable. We provide farmers an income source for non-standard or surplus vegetables, contributing to a more sustainable and resource-efficient utilization of resources. Our market bridges the gap, creating a climate-friendly "FOODprint" in Switzerland.
How do you define the positive impact of your solution on the problem described above?
To measure our impact in the first 1-3 years, we use different metrics and indicators. These include the amount of vegetables saved, the number of farmers we support, the number of customers on our platform, the CO2 savings from reducing food waste and feedback and ratings from farmers and customers.
These measurements allow us to track our progress, adjust our strategy and ensure that we are achieving our goals in terms of food waste, ecological footprint and support for local agriculture.
