Bone Brox, bone broth from Berlin since 2016
Bone Brox is a Berlin-based manufacturer of bone and meat broths, founded in 2016 by Jin-Woo Bae and Konrad Kaspar Knops. No ready-made powder, no yeast extract shortcuts, but rather organic broth from grass-fed cattle and free-range chicken, simmered for 24 hours, in three recipes: hearty, mild, and according to the GAPS protocol.
Bone Brox stands for traditional bone broth, brought back into the modern Berlin kitchen. What started in 2016 as an idea between two friends who met while doing CrossFit is now, by their own account, the largest provider of bone broths in Germany, with more than 260,000 packages sold. Three recipes bear the name in our shop: the hearty organic beef bone broth, the milder organic chicken bone broth, and the GAPS meat broth based on their own, shorter-simmered recipe.
Two friends from CrossFit, 2016
Jin-Woo Bae and Konrad Kaspar Knops had known each other for four years from doing CrossFit together before they co-founded Bone Brox in Berlin in 2016. According to them, the brand has been active on the market since 2015 – the two were still cooking the first batches in their own apartment, long before it became a company with its own production facilities.
Before the broth in the jar found its way to us, Jin-Woo and Konrad first sold it as a hot drink to-go at Berlin markets and food events. This is likely the origin of the Gastro-Gründerpreis (Gastro Startup Award), which a jury from the gastronomy scene awarded to the two founders in 2016.
Jin-Woo grew up with the traditional tonic broth his Korean mother would make for the whole family on cold days. Konrad, a trained osteopath and physiotherapist, contributed his knowledge of craft, patience, and bodywork. Their shared idea of bringing grandma's recipe back into the hectic everyday life of Berlin turned into a serious company within a few years.
In their founding year, the duo secured the Gastro-Gründerpreis from orderbird AG and the Next Organic Food Start-Up Award; in 2017, they faced investors on the show "Die Höhle der Löwen" (The Lion's Den) to negotiate for 350,000 euros. Respect.
Three broths, three characters
Bone Brox now carries a full range of bone broths, concentrates, collagen powder, and beef tallow. In our shop, you will find the three classics from the core range, each with its own character and cooking time.
The organic beef bone broth is simmered for 24 hours using bones from organic grass-fed cattle; it is savory and hearty in taste, refined with carrots, onions, and a dash of apple cider vinegar. The organic chicken bone broth simmers just as long, but tastes significantly milder and lighter with fennel, allspice, and juniper. The GAPS organic chicken meat broth follows a unique, three-hour-simmered recipe by Sandra Christiansen, a certified GAPS coach and author of "Dein GAPS Start."
All three come in the same 370 ml glass jar; all three can be drunk plain or used as a stock in the kitchen—hearty, mild, or particularly gentle, just as the day requires. If you like, keep a jar of all three in your fridge and decide spontaneously, depending on your appetite and recipe.
For those who want to browse beyond the three drinking broths, Bone Brox itself also offers bone broth concentrate for mixing, pure collagen powder, and beef tallow for searing. In our shop, we have deliberately focused on the three varieties that are the easiest and fastest to integrate into everyday life.
24 hours of patience and organic ingredients
Bone Brox simmers its two bone broths for 24 hours at a low temperature, while the GAPS meat broth is intentionally simmered for only three—two different craft traditions under one roof.
The bones come from organic grass-fed cattle and organic free-range chickens from Germany, accompanied by vegetables, herbs, and spices from certified organic farming. The beef broth contains ten ingredients, the chicken broth fourteen, and the GAPS version nine—no yeast extract, flavor enhancers, or preservatives anywhere. They are bottled exclusively in glass instead of plastic, a deliberate choice to avoid unnecessary packaging that you notice immediately when unboxing.
Konrad's experience as an osteopath early on shaped the philosophy behind Bone Brox: to keep ingredients as unprocessed as possible and to prefer long simmering over short cooking with additives. That is why all three recipes contain only water, meat or bones, vegetables, and spices in the jar, nothing more.
“Brox brings an old tradition into the modern era and makes grandma's tonic broth fashionable again. Whether as a base for soups or as a sauce—Brox should be in every kitchen arsenal,” says star chef Wolfgang Müller about the brand. Bone Brox is known from, among others, the Frankfurter Allgemeine, Men's Health, and several TV reports on VOX, RTL2, and Galileo.
From Gastro Startup Award to the organic shop
In 2016, Bone Brox won the Gastro-Gründerpreis from orderbird AG and the Next Organic Food Start-Up Award—two awards in their first year on the market. The magazine Jolie also dedicated a detailed home story to the Berlin founders.
2017 saw their appearance on "Die Höhle der Löwen." Investors Carsten Maschmeyer and Ralf Dümmel offered the founders the requested 350,000 euros, but for 30 percent of the shares instead of the requested 10 percent. Jin-Woo Bae and Konrad Kaspar Knops declined and pursued their own path. About three months later, the holding company Sobremesa invested 500,000 euros for 13.7 percent of the shares instead.
Today, Bone Brox is, by their own account, in almost every organic shop in Germany—from Bio Company and dennree to Alnatura, as well as in the refrigerated sections of Edeka and Rewe. From the Gastro Startup Award to the supermarket shelf—a long way for two CrossFit acquaintances from Berlin, who started in their own cooking pot in 2015 and now count more than 260,000 packages sold.
An easy entry into the Bone Brox range
If you are new to Bone Brox, it is best to grab two jars right away instead of just one.
We especially enjoy the combination of the hearty organic beef bone broth for cold winter days and the milder organic chicken bone broth for everyday use. For those who like it particularly gentle, have little time to cook themselves, or are simply curious, try the GAPS organic chicken meat broth—the mildest and quickest of the three recipes. You will also find other hearty soups and broths for the cold season in our assortment.
Anyone who usually prepares meat broth themselves over several hours but cannot always find the time will have an honest shortcut in the fridge with all three Bone Brox recipes, without any compromises on ingredients. The chicken broth is also well-suited as a base for a quick ramen night, refined with soy sauce, spring onions, and a soft-boiled egg.
In winter, we like to give a jar of beef bone broth as a gift along with a good loaf of bread, an uncomplicated gesture for anyone who has little time to cook themselves. In summer, we tend to go for the milder chicken version, lightly chilled and refreshed with a squeeze of lemon.
Whether as a stock for a Sunday risotto, as a base for a quick vegetable soup during the week, or simply pure from a mug on a gray Berlin afternoon—try all three recipes, and you will know which one best suits your everyday life.
Organic control body DE-ÖKO-037 – EU Agriculture.
