Haferkater

What Haferkater does

Haferkater GmbH is a Berlin-based specialty food retail chain founded in 2014 that operates take-away porridge and coffee stores, primarily at train stations across Germany with one location at the Vienna Airport in Austria. The company claims to be the world's first take-away porridge brand and positions its entire menu as vegetarian, with 78% of the product range certified vegan. Core products are traditional Scottish-style porridge made with German oats from controlled cultivation, freshly flaked on-site using grain mills (Getreidequetschen) in each store, served with proprietary toppings such as Haferkater Granola and Berry Mix; specialty coffee from direct-trade suppliers is offered as a complement. Approximately 120 stores serve horizontal consumer segments including urban commuters, train and air travelers, athletes, and health-conscious eaters seeking quick, organic, plant-based breakfast options.

Haferkater distributes through a hybrid model combining company-owned retail locations and franchise partner stores, with the franchise program offering system handbooks, vetted suppliers, and prime-location acquisition support. As of the latest reporting, the company has 137 employees (120 in stores, 17 at the Berlin headquarters) and reports approximately €10 million in annual revenue. Distribution is concentrated at high-traffic 1A-Lagen in Deutsche Bahn stations across major German cities (Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, etc.), giving the company a defensible commuter-channel position that is difficult for new entrants to replicate.

In 2024, Haferkater converted its legal structure to Verantwortungseigentum (purpose ownership), a governance model that legally prevents sale to external investors and locks the company into mission-driven independence. The transition was supported by a 2023 GLS Crowdfunding campaign. Anna Schubert and Leandro Burguete serve as Geschäftsführer (Managing Directors). The company maintains a sustainability posture (compostable packaging, transparency reports) and operates a third-party whistleblower system via Ratisbona Compliance as a governance control.

Name

Haferkater

Legal name

Haferkater GmbH

Website

https://haferkater.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Haferkater is a Berlin-based take-away porridge and coffee chain with approximately 120 stores at German train stations and Vienna Airport, serving commuters, travelers, and health-conscious consumers with vegetarian-vegan, organic porridge and specialty coffee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Food Sales: Revenue from direct sales of porridge and specialty coffee to consumers at company-owned and franchise store locations.
2. Franchise Fees: Franchise partners pay for the right to operate Haferkater stores under the brand system, including access to handbooks, suppliers, and location support.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Haferkater sells freshly prepared take-away porridge and specialty coffee through a chain of retail stores, primarily located at train stations across Germany and Austria. Oats are processed daily in-store via grain mills (Getreidequetschen) and cooked using a traditional Scottish recipe with water and salt; customers can customize with toppings such as granola and berry mixes. The chain complements its retail operation with a franchise program that licenses the Haferkater concept to partner operators.

Product overview

Haferkater operates as a take-away porridge and coffee restaurant chain with a unified product offering centered on traditional Scottish-style porridge and specialty coffee. The core products include freshly prepared porridge with customizable toppings (granola, berry mixes, and custom combinations) alongside coffee beverages. The company operates through company-owned and franchise stores, primarily located at train stations and high-traffic urban locations across Germany, with 120 stores and 17 employees at the central office as of 2025. Founded in 2014 in Berlin by three founders, the vegetarian-vegan concept positions itself as the world's first take-away porridge brand. The sustainability focus includes compostable packaging, vegetarian-vegan product assortment, and commitment to responsible ownership (Verantwortungseigentum).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Porridge (Haferbrei)

Quantifiable outcome

• 78% of product range is vegan
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ratisbona ComplianceminorOthersRatisbona Compliance operates Haferkater's whistleblower system (Hinweisgebersystem), providing an independent third-party platform for reporting suspected misconduct or compliance violations. This is a compliance and governance partnership rather than a commercial or product partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Vapiano: European casual dining restaurant chain with German origins. Operates in similar urban locations across Germany and Europe but focuses on pasta and Italian cuisine rather than grab-and-go breakfast, with comparable scale challenges.

Broad incumbents

• McDonald's: Global QSR giant with expanding breakfast menu including healthier options and McCafé coffee offerings. Competes in the same breakfast daypart and increasingly in train station and urban locations across Germany.
• Subway: Global sandwich chain with breakfast menu expansion and strong train station presence in Germany. Competes for the same breakfast and grab-and-go occasions with similar price positioning and a comparable reliance on franchise-driven footprint expansion.
• Pret a Manger: International sandwich and coffee chain with strong presence in transit hubs. Targets similar grab-and-go breakfast and lunch occasions with healthier, fresh food positioning and a similar emphasis on ethical sourcing.
• Starbucks: Global coffee chain with extensive food menu including breakfast items. Has overlapping customer base (commuters, urban consumers) and increasingly competes in the breakfast daypart, including healthier offerings and train station presence.

Others

• Lizza: German plant-based food brand specializing in low-carb pizza and related products. Thematically related through German plant-based positioning and similar consumer demographics, though operating in a different product category.
• yfood: German plant-based ready-to-drink meal replacement brand. Not a direct competitor but shares plant-based positioning and German market overlap with Haferkater; potentially adjacent in the consumer's healthy meal occasions and a potential partner for co-branded offerings.

Direct peers

• dean&david: German healthy fast-casual chain offering fresh salads, bowls, and wraps. Targets similar health-conscious urban consumers in Germany with a comparable positioning around fresh, sustainable, plant-forward food at accessible price points.
• Joe & The Juice: Danish-based healthy juice and sandwich café chain with strong presence in train stations and urban locations across Europe. Operates a similar grab-and-go healthy food concept with comparable price points, target demographics, and transit-hub distribution strategy to Haferkater.
• Le Pain Quotidien: International bakery-café chain serving breakfast, breads, and organic dishes. Operates with similar focus on organic, sustainable ingredients and café-style breakfast consumption in urban locations, sharing the organic and transparency-driven positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/haferkater-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Haferkater