Hinz&Kunzt

What Hinz&Kunzt does

Hinz&Kunzt (legal name: Hinz&Kunzt gemeinnützige Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH) is a Hamburg-based non-profit street magazine founded in 1993. It operates as Hamburg's largest employment project for homeless and poor people, with approximately 530 vendors selling the monthly print magazine at designated sales points throughout the Hamburg metropolitan area; each €9.90 street sale returns €5.70 directly to the vendor. The organization also runs a Winterprogramm shelter, social-support services, and a Housing First initiative that helped 39 individuals into permanent housing (made permanent by the Hamburg Senate in 2025-09).

The core product is the monthly magazine (currently Nr. 401, July 2026), complemented by digital single editions at €2.80 and an auto-renewing annual subscription at €33.60. Revenue diversification has accelerated through an e-commerce shop carrying 16+ branded merchandise SKUs (running shirts, caps, socks, scarves, candles, soaps, calendars, tote bags, keychains, knit caps), bookable Hamburger Nebenschauplätze city tours led by vendors, Vorträge presentations, donations, and the multi-decade Freundeskreis donor circle. Distribution combines the street vendor network with retail placement at Edeka, Budni, Lidl, Aldi, and the Zentralbibliothek, plus physical counter sales at the Minenstraße 9 headquarters.

The business model is a hybrid non-profit model: street magazine sales generate both vendor income and retained margin, subscriptions provide recurring revenue, merchandise and tours broaden the donor funnel, and institutional partnerships (HSV, Caritas, Hamburg Senate/Social Authority, Society for Civil Rights) provide visibility, co-funded programs, and policy leverage. There is no disclosed proprietary technology stack, and the organization is managed by Geschäftsführer Jörn Sturm from the Hamburg headquarters.

Name

Hinz&Kunzt

Legal name

Hinz&Kunzt gemeinnützige Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH

Website

https://hinzundkunzt.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Hinz&Kunzt is a Hamburg non-profit street magazine (founded 1993) employing ~530 homeless vendors to sell its monthly publication, supplemented by digital subscriptions, branded merchandise, city tours, donations, and social-support programs for Hamburg's homeless population.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services - Street Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Temporary Shelters (624221), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Emergency Shelter, Camp Management & Non-Food Items (NFI) (BPAGAAAC), Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

Keywords

• Street magazine
• Social enterprise
• Homeless employment
• Charity publishing
• Community journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Sales: Street magazine sold by homeless vendors for €2.80 (digital) or higher on the street. When sold on the street for €9.90, €5.70 goes directly to the sellers.
2. Annual Subscription: Digital magazine subscription available for €33.60 per year - auto-renewing subscription model for ongoing magazine access.
3. Merchandise Sales: Online shop selling branded merchandise including candles (€6.90), notebooks (€3-7), cooking calendars (€9.90), soaps (€7), caps (€24.90), socks (€12.50), backpacks (€12.90), keychains (€10.90), scarves (€39), knit caps (€29.90), cotton bags (€5), lunch boxes (€24.90), seed balls (€5.90), and running shirts (€35).
4. Donations: Accepts online donations via bank transfer (HASPA and GLS-Bank accounts) and through the Freundeskreis (Friends' Circle) membership program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hinz&Kunzt is Hamburg's largest employment project for homeless people, operating a non-profit street magazine (Straßenmagazin) sold by approximately 530 homeless and impoverished vendors throughout the Hamburg metropolitan area. The organization publishes a monthly print magazine (currently issue Nr. 401, July 2026) on social issues, homelessness, and urban topics, and supplements this with digital editions, an annual subscription, branded merchandise sales, donations, and supplementary social services including a winter shelter program.

Product overview

Hinz&Kunzt is a non-profit street magazine (Straßenmagazin) based in Hamburg, Germany, operating as a social enterprise that provides employment opportunities for approximately 530 homeless and disadvantaged people who sell the magazine throughout Hamburg. The core product is the monthly printed magazine (currently in its 401st issue, July 2026), also available as digital editions. The organization operates an e-commerce shop selling branded merchandise including apparel (running shirts, caps, socks, scarves), accessories (bags, keychains, backpacks, lunch boxes), home goods (candles, notepads, soaps), and specialty items (seed balls, cooking calendars). Additional services include city walking tours, presentations, and a winter shelter program. Revenue from magazine sales directly supports sellers, with €5.70 of each €9.90 calendar going to street vendors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hinz&Kunzt Magazin (Street Magazine) Monthly Hamburg street magazine sold by approximately 530 homeless and disadvantaged vendors at designated sales points throughout Hamburg. Covers social issues, poverty, homelessness, and urban topics. Provides dignified employment with sellers earning €5.70 per magazine sold.
• Digitale Ausgaben (Digital Editions)

Quantifiable outcome

• 530 homeless vendors supported in Hamburg metropolitan area
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hamburg Senate/Social AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Following successful pilot program, Hamburg's Senate has made Housing First a permanent part of regular assistance for homeless people. 39 people have found apartments through this initiative, which Hinz&Kunzt and homeless welfare experts advocated for.
• CaritascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaritas implements the 'Stromspar-Check' (Energy Savings Check) project for Hamburg's program supporting low-income households with balcony photovoltaic systems. The program has received 250 applications from low-income households seeking up to 90% cost coverage for solar installations.
• HSV (Hamburger SV)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerHSV and Hinz&Kunzt work closely together. A Hinz&Kunzt seller was given the opportunity to appear on the big stadium stage during a home game, demonstrating the strong partnership between Hamburg's largest sports club and the street magazine.
• Freundeskreis (Friends' Circle)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Friends' Circle provides ongoing support to Hinz&Kunzt. Members like Berufsschulleiterin Kerstin Starcke-Giese have been supporting the organization for over 20 years, demonstrating long-term community commitment.
• Society for Civil Rights (Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHinz&Kunzt seller René is supported by the Society for Civil Rights in a lawsuit against the HVV (Hamburg transit authority) regarding the prohibition of begging on public transportation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Big Issue: The UK's flagship street newspaper, founded in 1991, employing homeless vendors across major UK cities. Closest large-scale analogue to Hinz&Kunzt in mission, vendor model, and street-distribution mechanic.
• Megaphon: Austrian street magazine social enterprise employing homeless vendors in Salzburg and Linz. Directly comparable German-speaking peer with the same magazine-plus-vendor hybrid mission.
• L'Itinéraire: Montreal-based street paper and social reintegration organization. Similar urban-scale homeless-employment model and longtime North American analogue to Hinz&Kunzt's regional leadership role in Hamburg.
• Asphalt Magazin: German street magazine published in the Rhine-Ruhr region for homeless vendors. Another directly comparable German-language street paper operating with the same hybrid publishing/social-enterprise model.
• Fakt: Polish street paper sold by homeless and marginalized vendors in Wrocław. Comparable continental European street magazine anchor with shared vendor-employment identity.
• STREETWISE: Chicago street paper sold by homeless vendors to fund housing programs and job training. Closest US peer along the dual mission axis of street sales + housing/homeless services that Hinz&Kunzt advances.
• Hus Forbi: Denmark's leading street paper sold by homeless vendors in Copenhagen. Operates a virtually identical homeless-employment-through-newspaper model in a closely related Northern European media market.
• Passanten: Munich street magazine employing homeless vendors in Bavaria. Most direct German domestic peer to Hinz&Kunzt with the same vendor distribution mechanics and social-mission framing.

Others

• INSP (International Network of Street Papers): Global trade network for street papers including Hinz&Kunzt's peers. Relevant ecosystem counterpart providing shared services, advertising exchange, and best-practice diffusion across the street-paper sector.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HinzundKunztHamburg
• Facebookfacebook.com/HinzundKunzt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hinz-kunzt-ggmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/hinz_und_kunzt
• TikToktiktok.com/@hinzundkunzt
• Xx.com/hinz_und_kunzt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Hinz&Kunzt