How we work at nur Gutes

For us, sustainability is not a trend, but a conviction

When we talk about sustainability, it's not because it's currently fashionable or because it's expected on a company website. We talk about it because it's at the core of what we've been doing since 2002. When we founded nur Gutes, our focus from the very beginning was on good food – and good food only exists when nature, people, and animals are treated with respect.

For us, sustainability doesn't mean putting a single seal on the website and ticking off the box. It means taking responsibility in every area of our company: in the selection of our products, in the operation of our warehouses and offices, in the shipping of your order, and in how we handle food that is no longer long-lasting. Some things we already do very well, others we are still working on. This honesty is part of who we are.

In the following sections, we will show you what we do concretely – transparently, comprehensibly, and without greenwashing.

Renewable energy: Solar power and geothermal energy for our operations

An online shop for delicatessen and wine needs space – and energy. In our two warehouses and offices in Nordhorn, we store around 8,000 different items, many of which are temperature-sensitive. Chocolate, wine, olive oil, fruit spreads, and many other delicacies must be stored under optimal conditions all year round. This requires cooling in summer and heating in winter – and this is exactly where we come in.

Geothermal energy: Natural temperature control without fossil fuels

Our two warehouses and offices are temperature-controlled using geothermal energy. This geothermal system utilizes the constant temperature of the earth to heat our rooms in winter and cool them in summer. This means: We don't need natural gas, heating oil, or a conventional air conditioning system to store our products at optimal temperatures all year round. Geothermal energy works quietly, efficiently, and almost emission-free.

Especially for a delicatessen delivery service, this is an enormous advantage: Our chocolates survive the summer just as unscathed as our wines survive the winter – and all without fossil energy. The investment in geothermal energy was a conscious decision for long-term sustainability rather than short-term cost savings.

Photovoltaics: 60 kWp of solar power from our own roof

On the roofs of our two warehouses, we have installed photovoltaic systems with a total output of 2 × 30 kWp. These 60 kWp of solar power largely supply our operations with clean, self-generated energy – from warehouse lighting to order picking to the entire IT infrastructure that keeps our online shop running.

Any electricity we don't consume ourselves on sunny days is used to charge our electric company cars. This closes the loop: Solar power from the roof flows directly into the mobility of our team. No detour via the public grid, no fossil fuel – pure surplus electricity from our own generation.

Electromobility: Our company cars run on solar power

Our company cars are electric. And they are primarily charged with the surplus electricity from our PV systems. This means: When the sun shines on our roofs and more electricity is generated than we currently need for operations, this electricity flows directly into the batteries of our vehicles.

For us, this is not a prestige project, but a logical consequence. If you have the opportunity to generate clean energy yourself, you should use it where it makes the biggest difference. As a result, our daily journeys – whether to the post office, to local suppliers, or to appointments – are almost CO₂-free.

Organic certified: Our commitment to organic food

Our shop is organic certified. This means that we are authorized to trade organic products and that we are subject to the strict requirements of the EU Organic Regulation. Regular controls by independent inspection bodies ensure that we consistently comply with the requirements for labeling, storage, and traceability.

We carry a growing range of organic-certified products – from olive oils and fruit spreads to tea and coffee, to wines from organic or biodynamic cultivation. It is important to us that organic is an important quality feature, but not the only one. Some of our small manufacturers work according to the highest ecological standards, but do not bear an official seal – either because certification is not economically viable for a very small business, or because the producer works in a region where different quality standards apply.

We therefore always look behind the label: How is it actually produced? What ingredients are used? How does the manufacturer deal with its resources? These questions are at least as important to us as a seal on the packaging.

Short supply chains: Directly from the producer to you

A central component of our sustainability strategy is short, transparent supply chains. We buy the majority of our products directly from the manufacturer – without intermediaries, without detours, without anonymous supply chains.

What does this mean in practice? If you order an olive oil from Portugal from us, we have sourced this oil directly from the olive mill. We know the producer, we have seen his olive groves, we know how he works. If you buy a fruit spread from South Tyrol, it comes from a family business that we have known personally for years and visit regularly.

This direct purchasing has several advantages for sustainability. Transport routes become shorter and more transparent because the goods do not travel through several wholesalers and intermediate warehouses. Value creation remains with the producer, because no intermediary siphons off part of the margin. The small family business receives a fair price for its product and can make a living, continuing to produce with the highest quality and with respect for nature.

Over more than two decades, we have built and maintained this network. Kerstin was managing director of the association of leading delicatessen merchants in Germany and brings deep industry knowledge. Chambers of commerce and economic development agencies from all over Europe regularly introduce us to producers who want to offer their high-quality products on the German market. This way, we constantly discover new, exciting manufacturers who share our values.

Packaging and shipping: As sustainable as possible, as safe as necessary

Anyone who ships delicatessen and wine online faces a special challenge: the products must arrive safely and undamaged at the customer. Wine bottles, jam jars, chip bags, chocolate, and cookware in one package – this requires thoughtful packaging. At the same time, we want to use as little material as possible and pack as sustainably as possible.

Recycled and reusable materials

We consistently use recycled and reusable packaging materials. Our shipping boxes are made from recycled cardboard. As filling material, we use paper and cardboard instead of plastic. Our packaging chips – the small cushions that protect your products in the package – are fully compostable. You can dispose of them without hesitation in the organic waste bin or on the compost. Packaging material that reaches us from our suppliers – boxes, filling material, cushions – we reuse whenever possible instead of throwing it away. This way, packaging often gets a second or third life with us.

Chilled shipping with paper instead of plastic

We are particularly proud of our chilled shipping system. Where many mail-order companies rely on Styrofoam boxes and plastic cool packs, we use a paper-based solution. Our chilled packaging works with paper insulation – a system that reliably cools temperature-sensitive products such as butter, burrata, or cheese and is also fully recyclable. No Styrofoam that remains in the environment for decades, but paper that can simply go into the waste paper collection.

Bubble wrap is only used in rare exceptions when there is no equivalent plastic-free alternative. The vast majority of our orders leave our warehouse completely without plastic cushioning material.

Climate-neutral shipping

We ship your order climate-neutrally. This means that the CO₂ emissions generated during the transport of your package are compensated by certified climate protection projects. We know that compensation is not the perfect solution – it would be better if transport caused no emissions at all. But as long as that is not possible, compensation is an important step in the right direction.

At the same time, we do everything we can to reduce emissions at the source: through efficient warehouse organization that avoids unnecessary partial deliveries, through optimized package sizes, and through our own energy concept with photovoltaics and electromobility.

Against food waste: Enjoy instead of discard

Millions of tons of food are thrown away in Germany every year – often just because the best-before date has expired. However, "best before" means exactly that: at least. It is not an expiration date, but a manufacturer's guarantee that the product will retain its full quality until this date. In the vast majority of cases, food is perfectly edible far beyond this date.

At nur Gutes, we find it intolerable to simply throw away carefully produced delicacies. That's why we created our Sale section. There you will find products whose best-before date will be reached in the foreseeable future, or items with slight packaging damage – for example, a small dent in the carton or a torn label. The contents are, of course, unaffected.

We offer these products to you at reduced prices. This way, you get high-quality delicatessen at a special price, and we prevent good food from ending up in the trash. We don't have discount battles with sensational percentages – we offer fair, honest prices. This applies to the regular assortment as well as to the Sale.

Become a food saver: Perhaps you will discover your new favorite product in our Sale section – one that you might never have tried at the regular price. This turns sustainability into a culinary adventure.

Our producers: Sustainability throughout the supply chain

Sustainability doesn't end at our warehouse door. It begins where our products are created – in the fields, in the orchards, in the olive mills, in the manufactories and wineries of our producers.

When we add a new product to our assortment, we ask many questions. How is it produced? Where do the raw materials come from? How does the manufacturer deal with its soils, its water, its energy? Are employees paid fairly? Is animal welfare respected? We quickly notice whether someone works sustainably out of conviction or whether sustainability is just a marketing label.

Many of our long-standing partners are role models in sustainability – often long before there was public recognition for it. Winemakers who cultivate their vineyards organically or biodynamically. Fruit growers who rely on old varieties and respect the natural rhythm of nature. Olive growers who care for their centuries-old groves instead of switching to mass production. Manufacturers who work by hand and in small batches, instead of producing industrial quantities.

This type of production is inherently more sustainable than industrial mass production. Smaller quantities mean less resource consumption. Craft processing means less energy consumption. Regional raw materials mean shorter transport routes. And appreciation for one's own product means that nothing is wasted.

When you shop at nur Gutes, you are not only supporting your own enjoyment, but also an economic system that focuses on quality rather than quantity. On respect rather than exploitation. On people rather than machines.

Animal welfare and fair agriculture

Wherever animal products play a role in our assortment, we ensure responsible treatment of animals. This applies to cheese and butter as well as salami and ham, honey or meat products for grilling.

We prefer to work with producers who practice species-appropriate animal husbandry. Small farms where the animals have free range, receive natural feed, and live under conditions that correspond to their nature. We are convinced: You can taste the difference. A cheese from cows grazing in the Alps tastes different from an industrial product. A salami from pigs kept in small groups has a different quality than mass-produced goods.

Here, too, we look closely and ask questions. Not all of our producers carry an official animal welfare seal, but everyone we include in our assortment must meet our demands for respectful treatment of animals.

Our path: Honest, not perfect

We don't want to promise anything on this page that we cannot keep. Sustainability is a journey, not a destination that you reach and can check off at some point. There are areas where we are proud of what we have achieved: our energy supply with geothermal energy and photovoltaics, our electric company cars, our direct relationships with producers, our commitment against food waste.

And there are areas where we still want to improve. We are working to further reduce the plastic content in packaging materials. When selecting new producers, we are constantly raising the bar in terms of sustainability. And we are always looking for new ways to further reduce our ecological footprint.

What drives us is the conviction that good food and responsible handling of our environment are not opposites – but two sides of the same coin. The best products are created where people and nature work in harmony. And it is precisely these products that we want to make accessible to you.

If you have any questions about our sustainability measures or suggestions for us, we look forward to hearing from you. Because sustainability thrives on exchange – and on people who care.

Kerstin and Stephan Uhlenbusch