Bäckerei Künkel

Name

Bäckerei Künkel

Legal name

Bäckerei Künkel GmbH

Website

https://baeckerei-kuenkel.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1908

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Bäckerei Künkel is a fifth-generation family-owned German bakery founded in 1908, operating 53 retail locations across Mittelhessen including standalone stores, coffee houses, supermarket concessions, and hospital cafés.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Bakery & Coffee House Retail

NAICS

Baked Goods Retailers (445291), Commercial Bakeries (311812), Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Bakery Products (2050), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice) (THAFAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA), Artisan & Specialty Bakeries (Sourdough, Heritage Grains) (THAFAFAD)

Keywords

• Artisan bakery products
• Traditional German breads
• Bakery retail chain
• Specialty coffee service
• Fresh baked goods

Headquarters

HQ city

Langgöns

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Bakery Sales: Direct sales of freshly baked breads, rolls, pastries, and confectionery products across 53+ owned and operated storefront locations in Mittelhessen
2. Café House Operations: Full-service coffee house format offering breakfast, snacks, warm lunch items, coffee specialties, and pastries. Serves as experience-focused revenue stream with higher per-customer spend
3. In-Store Concessions: Operates bakery departments within REWE, EDEKA, and Kaufland supermarket chains, providing ready-to-bake and pre-baked products through concession agreements
4. Genusskarte (Gift/ Loyalty Card): Reloadable gift and loyalty card system where customers earn points on 11th coffee and 11th bread free, with prepaid balance used for purchases across all locations
5. To Good to Go Partnership: Surprise bags of unsold baked goods sold at reduced prices (€3.90 for approximately €12 value) through mobile app partnership to reduce food waste

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Bäckerei Künkel manufactures and retails traditional artisan baked goods — breads, rolls, pastries, and seasonal specialties — through 53 owned bakery, coffee house, and supermarket-concession locations in the German Mittelhessen region. The offering extends beyond bread to include a full coffee house experience with Viennese-roasted specialty coffee, a breakfast plate program, and loyalty-driven repeat purchases via the Genusskarte card. Production is centralized at the Langgöns Backstube and distributed across standalone cafés, REWE/EDEKA/Kaufland in-store concessions, hospital cafés, and a mobile sales trailer.

Product overview

Bäckerei Künkel operates as a family-owned bakery business with 53 locations in Mittelhessen region, offering traditional handcrafted baked goods alongside expanded café and hospitality services. Core products include breads and pastries made with long fermentation techniques, laminated pastry items (Plunder), and seasonal specialty items. The company has expanded beyond traditional retail into full Kaffeehäuser (coffee houses) offering all-day breakfast, warm lunch items, and specialty coffee prepared by trained baristas using Viennese-roasted beans. Loyalty is managed through the Genusskarte program offering the 11th coffee and bread free. The business also includes a unique Alpine-themed Brotstadl concept, operates a mobile sales trailer, and maintains sustainability partnerships including Too Good to Go for food rescue. Seasonal promotions feature limited-time products and coupon campaigns with prize drawings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Genusskarte: A loyalty card program offering stamps for coffee and bread purchases, with the 11th coffee and 11th bread free, and the ability to load monetary value for payments.

Products and services

• Traditional Baked Goods (Breads, Rolls, Pastries) Core artisan bread and roll product range baked daily at the central Langgöns Backstube using long fermentation methods and sold across 53 locations to individual consumers in Mittelhessen.
• Plundergebäck (Laminated Pastries) Tourier-layered laminated pastries with sweet and savory fillings (chocolate-vanilla, pistachio, nougat, berry, cheese-ham), made daily fresh in bakery and sold individually or in tiered multi-piece bundles.
• Frühstücksteller (Breakfast Plates) Assembled breakfast offerings across five plates (hearty classic, cheese selection, hearty sausage, sweet croissant, breakfast for two), served with fresh rolls and optional extras like scrambled eggs, omelet, cream cheese, and salmon.
• Genusskarte (Loyalty / Gift Card) Multi-purpose reloadable loyalty, gift, and prepaid payment card valid across all Künkel retail and coffee house locations, rewarding customers with the 11th coffee and 11th bread free.
• Coffee House Service (Kaffeehäuser & Kaffeekultur) Sit-down café service across Künkel's coffee houses offering Viennese-roasted specialty coffee drinks, breakfast, warm lunch items, and pastries prepared by trained baristas using hand-selected Arabica beans from Brazil, Jamaica, and Costa Rica.
• Brotstadl (Alpine Bread Barn Concept) Alpine-themed specialty café concept featuring Bavarian d\u00e9cor and a bread-focused menu (Stullen, Bretzen, Brotzeit specialties, Obazda) for up to 60 seated guests in Bad Nauheim-Nieder-Mörlen.
• Too Good to Go Surprise Bags Discounted surprise bags of surplus unsold baked goods sold via the Too Good to Go mobile app (~€3.90 per bag, ~€12 retail value) to reduce food waste while offering consumer value.
• Tourbrot (Charity Tour Bread) Specialty wheat mixed bread with linseed, sunflower seeds, oat flakes, and sesame shaped like a bicycle wheel with spokes, created for the Tour der Hoffnung charity event with a portion of each sale donated to pediatric cancer support.

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• To Good to GominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Food waste reduction partnership allowing customers to purchase surprise bags of unsold baked goods through the Too Good to Go mobile app. Products sold at €3.90 with approximately €12 retail value. Operational since March 2021.
• Tour der HoffnungcoreOthersAnnual charity cycling event raising funds for pediatric cancer patients. Bäckerei Künkel has participated as supporter since 2014 (10+ years), hosting event stops and selling special Tourbrot with portion of proceeds donated. Raised €17,828.75 total in 2024 including €7,078.75 from customer donations across 42+ locations.
• Family Eimer (Obstsalat)minorOthersLocal farming family providing fresh fruit for Tour der Hoffnung event catering and special fruit salads at charity events.
• REWE TravaciminorOthersLocal REWE market providing beverage donations and protein bars for Tour der Hoffnung charity event catering support.
• Various Local Businesses (Tour Sponsors)minorOthersMultiple Langgöns-area companies sponsoring Tour der Hoffnung: Firma Langensiepen Milchfahrzeuge, Carsten Thieme Sanitär, Hüttenberger Produktionstechnik, Metallbau Langer, Dörr & Jung, Willi Eimer, RB Brückel & Doris Brückel, H. Matthes & Söhne von Schloß-Korn, Christ Feinmechanik, Pro Vita Fitness, Faber & Schnepp. Combined €5,750 contribution in 2024.
• Facebook/JobsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJob posting and application platform within Facebook for recruitment advertising, enabling candidates to discover and apply for positions directly through social media.
• Private Viennese Coffee RoasterycoreOthersAustrian specialty coffee roaster supplying hand-picked, sun-dried Arabica beans from Brazil, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. Uses traditional drum roasting with hand-controlled long-term processes and air cooling. The exclusive coffee supplier for all Künkel coffee houses.
• Gießener AllgemeineminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional newspaper distributing summer coupon inserts for bakery promotional campaigns reaching local readership.
• Lahn-Dill-WochenblattminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional weekly newspaper distributing coupon inserts for bakery promotional campaigns in local community.
• Wetzlarer WochenblattminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional weekly newspaper distributing coupon inserts for bakery promotional campaigns in Wetzlar area.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves16 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Le Crobag: German bakery-café chain specializing in high-traffic locations (train stations, airports) with a coffee-and-pastry focused format. Comparable to Künkel's Kaffeehaus concept serving commuters and grab-and-go customers alongside sit-down consumption.
• Kamps: Germany's largest bakery chain, operating hundreds of retail bakery stores and supermarket in-store concessions nationwide under REWE Group ownership. Directly comparable to Bäckerei Künkel as a multi-format retail bakery with central production and a coffee/bread offering.
• Bäckerei Ditsch: Specialty German bakery brand (originally Götzen Ditsch, now part of Valora), focused on pretzels and Laugengebäck sold both in own stores and via supermarket concessions. Comparable on the snack-bakery + retail-concession model, though with a narrower product specialization.
• Junge Die Bäckerei: Family-run German regional bakery chain operating several hundred retail stores with café offerings, central production, and supermarket concessions. Closely comparable multi-generational, multi-format retail bakery model in the same national market.
• BackWerk: Self-service bakery café chain operating franchise locations across Germany and Europe, combining fresh-baked goods with coffee and snack seating. Directly comparable to Künkel's retail bakery-plus-café hybrid model.

Regional players

• Bäckerei Görtz: Long-standing German regional bakery chain operating retail locations and café houses concentrated in the Rhineland. Comparable as a multi-generational family retail bakery with café format, though geographically separate from Künkel's Hesse footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Pret a Manger: International bakery-café chain focused on freshly prepared sandwiches, salads, coffee, and baked goods in high-footfall urban locations. Comparable on the combination of bakery production, café/coffee service, and grab-and-go retail.
• Panera Bread: U.S. bakery-café chain and category-defining 'third place' concept combining artisan bread with coffee house service, soups, and breakfast. Comparable on the café-bakery hybrid business model and coffee-house positioning strategy.
• Harry-Brot: Germany's largest industrial bread producer (formerly Lieken), supplying pre-baked and fresh-baked goods through supermarket in-store bakeries. Relevant as the scale incumbent whose supermarket-concession channels compete directly with Künkel's REWE/EDEKA/Kaufland partnerships.

Emerging players

• Zeit für Brot: Berlin-based artisan sourdough bakery chain emphasizing long-fermentation craftsmanship similar to Künkel's 16-hour resting process. Comparable as an emerging chain with a differentiated artisan positioning, though currently sub-scale relative to Künkel.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/baeckereikuenkel
• Instagraminstagram.com/baeckereikuenkel

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bäckerei Künkel