Landlust

What Landlust does

Landlust is a traditional German café and gift shop (Kaffee ● Geschenke ● Mehr) operating as a sole proprietorship founded on 1 October 2012 by Ellen Stiebing. The business is housed in a historic half-timbered building from 1530 in the western old town of Bad Hersfeld, Hesse, adjacent to the Stiftsruine. It employs 14 people and operates limited hours (Tuesday-Saturday 09:30-17:00, Sunday 14:00-17:00, closed Mondays except during the Bad Hersfeld Festival season). The core offering combines in-store café service — coffee, breakfast, Landkuchen and baked goods from Landbäckerei Brack, homemade jams and liqueurs, sausages from Gaststätte Vollmarsburg, and wines from Weingut Bohdanowicz — with a curated gift assortment (handmade soaps from Herzenssache, gift items from GILDE Handwerk, chocolates from Leysieffer), take-away cake sales, website-based table reservations, and private event hosting for groups of up to 24 guests.

The business makes money almost exclusively through on-premises consumer transactions at a single retail location, supplemented by gift retail and event hosting. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer, with no e-commerce channel for gift items, no franchise model, and no external institutional capital. Pricing is not publicly disclosed (menus are distributed as PDF documents), and there is no evidence of subscription, licensing, or contract-based revenue. Marketing is driven by the company's own website, social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), earned local press (Hersfelder Zeitung, Osthessen News), regional television features (RTL Hessen, HR Hessian Broadcasting), and recurring cultural programming including author readings and themed holiday events that drive off-peak traffic.

The underlying technology stack is minimal: a Joomla-based CMS (built by Walter Kirchhof) with Google Maps and YouTube embeds, standard social-share plug-ins, and a basic online reservation form. There are no disclosed APIs, no proprietary software, no mobile applications, and no AI/ML components. Customer segments comprise local Bad Hersfeld residents (primary), private event hosts, and seasonal festival/tourist visitors during the annual Bad Hersfeld Festival. The company has no subsidiaries, no parent company, no M&A activity, and no documented leadership changes since founding.

Name

Landlust

Legal name

Landlust

Website

https://landlust-hersfeld.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Landlust is a sole-proprietorship café and gift shop in Bad Hersfeld, Germany, founded in 2012 by Ellen Stiebing, serving coffee, regional baked goods, handcrafted gifts, and private events from a historic 1530 half-timbered building to local residents and festival visitors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Café and Gift Shop

NAICS

Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Dessert Cafes (Coffee + Desserts) (THAFADAH)

Keywords

• Café services
• Gift shop retail
• Private event hosting
• Regional bakery products
• Homemade food beverages

Headquarters

HQ city

Bad Hersfeld

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Café food and beverage sales: The primary revenue stream is in-store sales of coffee, hot and cold beverages, alcoholic drinks, breakfast offerings, and self-baked cakes and Landkuchen. The café serves a full food and drink menu including savory items and hearty dishes.
2. Gift items and handcrafted products: Sales of gift articles including handcrafted soaps, chocolates, pralines, homemade jams, and liqueurs. Cake sales outside the premises is also offered.
3. Private event hosting: Revenue from hosting private celebrations such as birthday parties and Christmas events. The venue accommodates up to 24 guests with table decoration provided according to the occasion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Landlust is a single-location café and gift shop housed in a 1530 half-timbered building in Bad Hersfeld, Germany, serving coffee, breakfast, land cake (Landkuchen) from Landbäckerei Brack, homemade jams and liqueurs, warm and cold beverages, and curated regional gift articles (handcrafted soaps, chocolates, pralines, wines). The business also offers take-away cake sales, online table reservations, and private event hosting for up to 24 guests.

Product overview

Landlust operates as a traditional German café (Café Landlust) combined with a gift shop, located in a half-timbered building from 1530 in Bad Hersfeld's western old town. The core offering centers on café services including coffee, breakfast, and homemade specialties (jams, liqueurs, cakes from Landbäckerei Brack). Supporting products include gift items (Geschenkartikel) and hand-made soaps (Handgesiedete Seifen) sourced from partner suppliers. Additional services encompass table reservations, private event hosting for up to 24 guests, and take-away cake sales. The business also organizes cultural events including author readings and holiday-themed celebrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Café Landlust (Café Dining Service) On-premises café service offering coffee, breakfast, land cake (Landkuchen), self-made jams and liqueurs, warm and cold beverages including alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, and light meals. Targeted at local residents, regulars, and visitors to Bad Hersfeld.
• Geschenkartikel (Gift Items)

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GILDE HandwerkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGILDE Handwerk, based in Bocholt, has specialised for over 50 years in the development and distribution of exclusive accessories and gift articles. Landlust sources a large portion of its gift items from GILDE Handwerk, offering products ranging from classic-elegant to modern-individual home décor accessories.
• Herzenssache (Handwerk kreativ und sinnlich)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHerzenssache in Burghaun is a small, innovative gift world featuring lovingly handcrafted items created in a feel-good atmosphere. Landlust sources handcrafted natural soaps from this partner, described as handcrafted art pieces with a warm, creative approach.
• Landbäckerei BrackcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLandbäckerei Brack, located in Ludwigsau-Niedertahlhausen, is a traditional bakery that supplies Landlust with 'Landkuchen' (land cake) and other baked goods. The bakery also operates a land café in Ludwigsau-Friedlos.
• Gaststätte VollmarsburgminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGaststätte Vollmarsburg, located in Hauneck about 6 km from Bad Hersfeld, is known for homemade sausage specialities and good German cuisine using animals from its own pig farming operation. Landlust sources homemade sausages from this partner for its breakfast and food offerings.
• Weingut BohdanowiczminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWeingut Bohdanowicz is a small family winery located in Bechtheim in Rheinhessen (near Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate). The winery, operated by viticulture technician Andreas Bohdanowicz, supplies Landlust's wine selection.
• B&B Keins wie MeinsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerB&B Keins wie Meins is a small, boutique bed and breakfast in Bad Hersfeld located directly next to Landlust. The proximity creates a natural synergy: overnight guests can walk over for breakfast at Landlust.
• Chocolaterie LeysiefferminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLeysieffer is a company that manufactures and sells high-quality confectionery products. Landlust stocks chocolate, coffee, tabs, and pralines from this chocolatier in its gift article assortment.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Starbucks Germany: Starbucks operates a broad coffee shop chain across Germany. While it does not match Landlust's historic/regional positioning, it competes for the same coffee-and-cake customer and is a relevant industry benchmark for the German café segment.
• McCafé: McCafé is McDonald's in-store coffeehouse concept operating broadly across Germany. It competes for the casual coffee and light-meal occasion, providing a low-cost benchmark for the German café market.
• Tchibo: Tchibo is a major German coffee retailer with rotating non-food concepts and coffee bars. It is comparable to Landlust on the coffee and curated gift/product narrative and represents a broader incumbent in the German coffee + gift retail space.
• Dallmayr: Dallmayr is a long-established German coffee, food, and gift retailer with café and delicatessen operations. It is comparable to Landlust on the curated coffee + gift shop + café combination and is a relevant incumbent benchmark in the German premium café category.

Others

• Leysieffer: Leysieffer is a German confectionery manufacturer and retailer (and an existing supplier to Landlust). It is comparable as an adjacent player in the curated gift and chocolate segment that Landlust serves in its gift shop.

Direct peers

• Coffee Fellows: Coffee Fellows is a German sit-down coffee shop chain operating in the DACH region. It is directly comparable to Landlust as a coffee-and-light-food café concept, although it operates at chain scale rather than as a single independent location.
• Bonanza Coffee Roasters: Bonanza Coffee Roasters is a Berlin-based specialty coffee roaster with cafés. It shares the small-batch, experience-led café concept with Landlust, particularly the sit-down format and curated product narrative.
• The Barn Coffee Roasters: The Barn is a German specialty coffee roaster with café locations emphasizing minimalist, quality-driven experiences. It is comparable to Landlust on the café/coffee concept and the curated local-product positioning, though at a larger footprint.
• Einstein Kaffee: Einstein Kaffee is a German coffee shop chain offering coffee, breakfast, and light meals in a sit-down environment. It shares the same core offering (coffee + breakfast + cakes) as Landlust, although it operates at multi-unit scale.
• Balzac Coffee: Balzac Coffee is a German specialty coffee roaster and café chain. It is comparable to Landlust on the coffee-and-cake café model and on the curated regional/quality product positioning, though at greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/landlust

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 Landlust