Service-Bund: Stronger Together
Service-Bund provides companies in the restaurant, hotel, and catering sectors with a wide range of food, non-food items, as well as customized logistics and service solutions. Together with Green Box, the wholesaler is placing a focus on sustainable packaging concepts.From the Beginnings to a Strong Network
Service-Bund began in 1973 as a small purchasing cooperative founded by three wholesale suppliers from Lübeck, Bremen, and Munich. Today, around 30 partner companies at more than 40 locations supply about 80,000 customers – from small currywurst snack bars to fine dining restaurants, from hospitals to cruise ships. The Service-Bund partners are regionally rooted and at the same time present throughout Germany.
The range extends from food and non-food items to digital solutions and logistics services, all the way to large-scale kitchen technology. The guiding principle has remained unchanged over the years: tackling challenges together and putting customers first.
"Despite all the progress, the most important goals of the Service-Bund group have always remained the same," explains Hanna Hölscher, Brand Manager of the Service-Bund non-food brand Completta. "To be number one for all our customers and to overcome challenges together. Our internal slogan is not without reason One Big Family – and that is truly lived."
Regional Proximity and Nationwide Strength
The Service-Bund is unique in its form within the market. Customers rooted in their local environment benefit from a combination of regional presence and an international network. This creates an exclusive mix of personal proximity, partnership-based support, individual consulting, and professional quality management with access to comprehensive services, innovative products, and specialized solutions that the group provides centrally under one roof.
Customers particularly benefit from regional and international partnerships and networks, such as the membership with ECD (European Catering Distributors) and its Europe-wide connections.
A key part of the recipe for success is the lively exchange between the Service-Bund headquarters and the regional Service-Bund companies. Regular committees, boards, and conferences bring together hundreds of employees and shareholders to share knowledge, coordinate projects, and advance ideas collectively. This is efficient and strengthens the group’s sense of community.
Sustainability for the World of Tomorrow
The Service-Bund pursues a comprehensive sustainability strategy: each individual regional partner is committed to the areas of economy, ecology, and social responsibility. For example, partner companies are gradually converting their fleets to electric or hydrogen-powered trucks. The group’s headquarters is also investing in future-oriented measures such as solar panels, e-charging stations, and a dedicated controlling department for sustainability strategies.
Sustainability is also a top priority when it comes to the group’s own brands. This is reflected in the direct and personal contact with producers and suppliers on site. For example, the construction of a school in Ethiopia was co-financed, and a tree nursery for cocoa plants in the Dominican Republic was supported.
In this spirit, the GENERATION:RE initiative was launched to “improve real things in real ways.” The aim goes beyond sustainable business: with the concept of regeneration, the group strives for the active restoration and care of ecosystems, creating conditions under which the environment, the economy, and people can thrive equally.
The focus on sustainability also extends to the group’s own products. “With Completta Öko we are responding to the increasing requirements in the foodservice sector and the growing demand for more environmentally friendly disposable and reusable packaging,” says Hanna Hölscher, Brand Manager of Completta.
Sustainable Partnership with Green Box
Since 2020, Green Box has been a reliable supplier for the take-away solutions of Completta Öko. Each package stands for responsibility, practicality, and sustainability – and brings a touch of nature into everyday life. Hanna Hölscher ensures that every product meets these standards.
The decisive factor in the collaboration with Green Box was its clear commitment to sustainable projects, including a guaranteed offset of emissions from production and delivery to the Service-Bund companies. This demonstrates that ecological action and economic success can indeed go hand in hand.
A vivid example is the Service-Bund company Früchte Jork in Isny, Allgäu: there, the “Tante Trude” food truck replaces the traditional staff canteen, and meals are served exclusively in reusable containers from Completta Öko/Green Box. In this way, the sustainable idea becomes a visible statement of the partnership’s practical orientation and is integrated into everyday operations.
