Marktlücke

What Marktlücke does

Marktlücke GmbH is a Zürich-based social enterprise founded in 2009 by Christina Dalbert, operating four interconnected business units: a Förderangebot (support program) for unemployed women offering job coaching, supervised work placements and social counseling; a retail Laden und Bistro at Schipfe 24+26 selling handcrafted design products alongside take-away food; a Restaurant Kantine Hermetschloo at Hermetschloostrasse 70 serving daily lunch, catering and event venue services; and an in-house Werkstatt that produces bags (Freia-Tasche, Fallschirmtasche), accessories, home goods and custom commissioned work. The enterprise is privately held with no external institutional capital, shareholders include Managing Director Barbara Meier, founder Christina Dalbert, Claudine Hartung and Margot Hausammann.

Products are manufactured predominantly from upcycled materials — certified parachute fabric, discarded wine bottles, fabric remnants, festival banners and fishing nets — and sold through physical retail, an online shop at shop.markt-luecke.ch and custom B2B commissions. Unit prices range from CHF 2.80 (greeting cards) to CHF 453.30 (furniture); catering and event-venue rentals supplement product sales. The company additionally resells social-enterprise products from at least eleven partner workshops (Züriwerk, Brühlgut Stiftung, Pöschwies, Stiftung zur Weid, Quellenhofstiftung, Gürber Keramik, loorbeer, Stadt Winterthur AIW, Inclusioplus, Lifetime Health, Froelich & Corbella), positioning Marktlücke as a curated marketplace for impact-driven design goods.

Revenue is generated from four streams: retail and online product sales, restaurant and catering services, social-services-funded job-coaching contracts, and custom workshop commissions. Marketing is largely organic — Facebook, Instagram, newsletter and recurring in-venue events (Fiiirabigbar evenings, Handwerk zu Gast demonstrations) — with a recent third-party validation through a 3rd-place finish at the Socialstore Award 2025 in the Kundengeschenk category. The geographic footprint is concentrated in Zürich with limited online international reach and no disclosed AI, software or platform technology components.

Name

Marktlücke

Legal name

Marktlücke GmbH

Website

https://markt-luecke.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Marktlücke GmbH is a Zürich-based social enterprise founded in 2009 that runs a work-integration program for unemployed women alongside a retail store/bistro, a restaurant and a workshop producing and reselling upcycled handcrafted design products in Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Enterprise Retail and Hospitality

SIC

Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)

akta.pro primary industry

Crafting Machines & Accessories Retail (Die-Cut, Cricut/Silhouette, 3D Pens) (CRALACAK)

Keywords

• Social enterprise workshops
• Handcrafted design products
• Upcycled sustainable goods
• Women employment integration
• Retail restaurant bistro

Headquarters

HQ city

Zurich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Product sales (retail and online): Sale of handcrafted design products including bags, accessories, home goods through physical store and online shop at shop.markt-luecke.ch
2. Restaurant and catering services: Restaurant Kantine Hermetschloo serving daily menus, catering for events and celebrations, venue rental for private occasions
3. Job coaching and integration services: Förderangebot providing job coaching, supervised work placements, and career counseling for unemployed women, funded through social services partnerships
4. Custom production orders: Workshop produces custom items and corporate gifts on commission basis, including embroidery and textile products

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Marktlücke GmbH operates an integrated social enterprise comprising four interconnected units: a workshop producing handcrafted design products from upcycled materials, a retail store with bistro at Schipfe in Zürich, a restaurant (Kantine Hermetschloo) serving daily lunch menus and catering, and a Förderangebot (support program) providing job coaching, supervised work placements, and social counseling for unemployed women. Products are sold via the physical store and the online shop at shop.markt-luecke.ch, and the workshop also produces custom commissions and corporate gifts.

Product overview

Marktlücke GmbH is a social enterprise comprising four interconnected operations: a retail store with take-away/bistro, a restaurant (Kantine Hermetschloo), an in-house workshop, and a support program for unemployed women. The workshop produces handmade design products including bags (Freia-Tasche, Mini-Freia, Fallschirmtasche), accessories (Hans Muster Täschchen, Allerlei-Stoffel), home goods (Flaschenlaterne, Keramik-Untersetzer, Rüstbrett), and sustainable items (Fill me bottles, Fischnetz Spülschwamm). Products are sold through the physical store, online shop, and as custom orders. The support program integrates participants into all business areas, with products often made from recycled materials and featuring upcycling themes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Marktlücke Werkstatt (Workshop) The workshop produces handmade design products including bags, accessories, and home goods, crafted by participants in the social support program. It also fulfills custom commissions, corporate gifts, and embroidery orders (e.g., for Universitätsspital Zürich) using sustainable and upcycled materials such as parachutes, fabric remnants, festival banners, and wine bottles.
• Laden und Bistro (Store and Bistro) Physical retail store at Schipfe 24+26, 8001 Zürich, offering handcrafted design products alongside take-away and bistro food and beverages from morning to evening apéro. Open Tue–Fri 10–18:30 and Sat 10–18.
• Restaurant Kantine Hermetschloo Restaurant at Hermetschloostrasse 70, 8048 Zürich, serving daily fresh, seasonal, and imaginative lunch menus and a salad buffet on weekdays. Also offers banquets, catering, event hosting, venue rental for private occasions, and a meeting room for 4–15 people.
• Förderangebote (Support Program for Women) Support program offering fostering workplaces (Förderarbeitsplatz/internal work placements), job coaching, application coaching, and social counseling for unemployed women. The program aims to strengthen self-esteem, develop professional skills, support family-work balance, and facilitate reintegration into the labor market, with referrals through social services.
• Marktlücke Online-Shop E-commerce platform for purchasing Marktlücke's handmade design products, including gifts, accessories, home goods, and upcycled items. Hosts the assortment produced by the workshop and resold partner products from social enterprises.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful career reintegration support for unemployed women
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Human Rights Film Festival Zurich (HRFF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Long-standing sustainability partnership where Marktlücke creates upcycled products (Goodies) from old festival banners. Collaboration includes creative product development supporting the festival's sustainability initiatives.
• DRINK&DONATEminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFor each Fill me bottle sold, 1 CHF is donated to DRINK&DONATE, a nonprofit providing clean drinking water access in developing countries.
• Lifetime Health GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of Tischtennis-Set products manufactured by Lifetime Health GmbH.
• Stadt Winterthur - Arbeitsintegration AIWminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of Kinderglas and Trinkglas products produced by the city's work integration program.
• Froelich & Corbella Metallprodukte GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of Messingring and Ménage products designed and distributed by Froelich & Corbella.
• ZüriwerkminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of Salz & Pfeffer Streuer products made by Züriwerk for people with disabilities.
• Brühlgut Stiftung, WinterthurminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of Anzündhilfen Fritten products made by the foundation.
• Pöschwies JustizvollzugsanstaltminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of Weidenkorb products handwoven in the correctional facility.
• Inclusioplus, LiestalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of bird feeder products made by Inclusioplus.
• Stiftung zur WeidminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of Taburettli products manufactured by the foundation's carpentry workshop.
• QuellenhofstiftungminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of Multibag products produced by Quellenhofstiftung.
• Gürber Keramikmanufaktur, KüttigenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of ceramic products handmade by Gürber Keramikmanufaktur.
• loorbeer Holzdesign, ZürichminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReseller of Rüstbrett products made from old wine barrels by loorbeer Holzdesign.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Sansasby: Swiss upcycled textile brand producing bags and accessories from surplus materials. Smaller-scale emerging player in the same upcycled-textile category as Marktlücke's workshop products.
• Züriwerk: Swiss foundation employing people with disabilities to manufacture wood and craft products. Comparable as a Zürich-based social-enterprise manufacturer; Marktlücke even resells Züriwerk's salt-and-pepper shakers, indicating direct operational overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Tibits: Swiss vegetarian restaurant chain with multiple Zürich locations. Comparable as a Zürich restaurant operator with vegetarian/seasonal positioning, though without Marktlücke's workshop and social-services dimension.
• Hiltl: Long-established Zürich vegetarian restaurant and buffet concept. Overlaps with Marktlücke's Restaurant Kantine Hermetschloo daily-lunch positioning, but Hiltl operates at significantly larger scale as a broad incumbent.

Regional players

• memo Versand: German sustainable products retailer offering eco-friendly household goods. Overlaps with Marktlücke's sustainable home goods assortment, though primarily catalog/online and operating outside Switzerland.
• Avocadostore: German online marketplace for sustainable and fair-trade products. Comparable as a curated eco-product retail platform, but operates in a different geography and as an aggregator rather than a workshop-driven brand.
• Glore: German sustainable-fashion retail concept curating fair-trade and eco-friendly apparel and accessories. Comparable as a curated sustainable-product retail format, though operating in DACH markets outside Switzerland.

Direct peers

• FREITAG: Swiss brand making bags and accessories from upcycled truck tarpaulins and other recycled materials. Closest conceptual peer given shared Swiss origin, upcycling-as-product DNA, and bag/accessory category overlap with Marktlücke's workshop (e.g., Fallschirmtasche, Freia-Tasche).
• Heilsarmee Brocki: Swiss Salvation Army social-retail thrift shop network. Comparable as a Zürich-based hybrid retail operation with explicit social mission (work integration), selling curated secondhand and artisan goods to consumers.
• Sozo (Caritas Zürich): Caritas Zürich's social-enterprise concept combining restaurant/café, retail, and employment programs for disadvantaged groups. Mirrors Marktlücke's hybrid retail-plus-restaurant-plus-social-services operating model in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Marktlucke
• Instagraminstagram.com/kantine_hermetschloo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marktl%C3%BCcke

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Marktlücke