Compared to Stuttgart and Frankfurt, the Karlsruhe wholesale market is a relatively minor player among the fresh produce centers in southwestern Germany. Nevertheless, over the past decades, it has consistently maintained its position as an important trading center and thus as the hub of regional fresh produce supply. While many fellow traders in other German cities are fighting for their livelihoods, the Karlsruhe City Council made a definitive commitment to the wholesale market a few months ago. This set the course for the future of the regional fresh produce center, even though the modernization strategy for the partly ramshackle halls has not yet been finalized.
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Michael Koch from Rolf Koch GmbH is considered a pome fruit expert through and through and literally grew up among apples and pears. His father and company founder, Rolf Koch, was primarily dedicated to trading regionally produced fruit from Baden and the Lake Constance area, thus laying the foundation for today's successful wholesale business
The Karlsruhe wholesale market is the third largest in Baden-Württemberg and has existed since 1967. Covering an area of around 110,000 square meters, the halls on the street "Am Großmarkt" on the east side of the city are open to commercial customers for shopping from 4 a.m. on Monday to Saturday. Weekly market traders, restaurateurs, retailers, discounters, and florists come to Karlsruhe from a radius of around 150 kilometers to make bulk purchases, with delivery tending to become increasingly important, as local traders unanimously confirm.
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Özkan Özozan is a buyer and seller at Sahin GmbH
"The value of the wholesale market became apparent during the pandemic. It showed how important it is to have a central location for fresh produce," says Stefan Ewald from the company Ludwig Schenk, recalling the boom in business during the pandemic years. Although business has gradually returned to pre-coronavirus levels over the past two to three years, local traders are quite satisfied with the business situation. Nevertheless, November is usually a quiet month, and longer-term challenges such as inflation, unpredictable weather, and the like are also causing them some concern.
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The team at Ludwig Schenk, with senior partner Mr. di Gregorio (far right). In addition to its traditional fruit and vegetable wholesale business, the long-established company also operates a cutting facility located at the wholesale market
"We are in the fortunate position that the city has declared its commitment to the wholesale market. This is, of course, a major advantage over other cities. What also helps us is the fact that we have a lively weekly market culture in our region. This continues to be an important sales market for our wholesale market businesses," explains Axel Pallmer from the Karlsruhe Market Office. From their office building in the entrance area of the wholesale market, the team at the Karlsruhe Market Office is responsible for the 17 municipal weekly markets as well as popular events in Karlsruhe, such as the twice-yearly folk festival on the Messplatz, the Durlach Wine Festival, church consecrations in Hagsfeld and Mühlburg, the arts and crafts markets on Stephanplatz and Marktplatz, and the Christmas market, which was officially opened in the last week of November.
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Baris Karaman from the wholesale company of the same name provides advice and support specifically to customers in the catering and communal catering sectors
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"We are currently working at full capacity," Pallmer continues, referring to the current new construction projects. Due to business closures and takeovers, the number of market companies has tended to decline over the past decade. The vacant stalls have either been taken over by neighboring companies or refilled, Pallmer confirms. Among others, Link Frischgemüse (right, older picture), which offers a wide range of home-grown vegetables and potted herbs as well as other fresh produce, has recently expanded its premises, and Frey Gemüsebau GmbH is also currently building new offices that will be ready for use in the course of the new year.
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Seyfettin Kaplan from the Seyfi company is considered the go-to person for nuts, dried fruits, and other delicatessen items
All in all, Pallmer is confident about the future of the local wholesale market, although it is still unclear how and when the site will be renovated. However, there is still room for improvement. "Personally, I would like to see a little more variety. It would be nice if we could attract another fish trader to the wholesale market. In my opinion, this would complete the range of products available on site," he concludes.
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Jürgen Weiler, managing director of Rolf Koch GmbH, and Axel Pallmer from the Karlsruhe Market Authority
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Francesco di Bari, senior manager at Sapros Karlsruhe GmbH, has a particular passion for Italian products
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Andreas Frey, managing director of the fruit and vegetable wholesaler of the same name
For more information:
www.karlsruhe.de/kultur-freizeit/maerkte/grossmarkt
http://firma-schenk.de/
https://gemuesebau-frey.de/
https://obst-gemuese-karlsruhe.de/
http://www.fruchtprofis-ka.de/
https://sapros.de/
http://www.karaman-ka.de/
https://www.instagram.com/sahin_gmbh/
