Diyar Asif began his training as a wholesale and foreign trade management assistant in August 2024:

““My colleagues gave me a warm welcome from day one. It was exciting and informative to have the opportunity to get a taste of all departments. I enjoy coming to work every morning because I am never alone with my tasks. The community here is strong and everyone is ready to help with questions or challenges. What I particularly appreciate is the focus on team building. The efforts to work together in harmony are clearly noticeable and help me to quickly feel part of the team. I'm looking forward to the time ahead at Bode Naturkost.”

Richmond has been a permanent member of our trainee team since February 2023. He is training to become a warehouse logistics specialist:

„Back then, my brother inspired me to pursue an apprenticeship in warehouse logistics. My colleagues from the warehouse welcomed me with open arms when I started and always support me in everything! I now understand my job very well and feel that my expertise will enable me to complete my training with confidence. At school, I learn a lot of new things and I'm encouraged in my school performance, also in the course of my wish to shorten my apprenticeship. There are days when the amount of goods to be picked feels endless. But suddenly, after unloading, I'm standing in front of an empty truck or after completing a customer order, the fully loaded truck drives off - that's when I realise what we can do. The trainee group gives me additional feedback from the other departments about how important my job really is for all of us. This strengthens my motivation.“

Lars Awuley Lartey began his training as a wholesale and foreign trade management assistant at the end of 2022:

"Since starting my apprenticeship, I have learnt many facets of my job as a wholesale and foreign trade merchant. With my communicative and organisational strengths, I feel that I have arrived in the profession and can use these in dealing with customers, among other things. Rotating through different departments has enabled me to get to know the interfaces relevant to the job particularly well and I have learnt all the relevant aspects for me to act independently as a specialist. The focus on sustainability is particularly interesting for me - not only in relation to the goods, but also in relation to our business partners and customers, with whom I am in daily contact. My team encourages me at all times and helps me to make the best of the challenges of my day-to-day work. With a similarly positive feeling, I am also able to realise new projects and exchange ideas with the trainee group every week, which is also an opportunity for me to contribute my ideas. The team supports me and I can achieve personal successes, such as recently as the leader of our Christmas project."

Celine Kühl, this year's addition to the trainee team:

„In addition to my start of apprenticeship, Bode Naturkost offered me the perfect start for reorientation in Hamburg. In my opinion, a warm welcome in the company and the harmonious cooperation in the team now complete the picture of a thoroughly positive working environment. Open communication, independence and flexibility provide motivation every day and demand independent working methods. Motivating project formats lead early on to conveying both personal responsibility and the ability to deal with various topics independently, and yet you can still count on any support even in problematic situations. “

Management assistant in wholesale and foreign trade management:

"After a few detours in my career, I finally decided to become a trainee at Bode and immediately had the feeling of being part of the diverse team. You are quickly integrated and appreciated in your department: even as a trainee you soon get your own tasks and projects. Working here, there is no need to fear boredom! In addition, since day one, Bode has been willing to promote my strengths and potential not only in everyday life, but also on other opportunities. For example, I was able to enroll in a bilingual vocational school class, take part in internal and external training courses, and was also allowed to travel abroad for an external course program lasting several weeks."

Freight forwarding and logistics services clerk:

"I used to worked at Bode Naturkost's warehouse for six years. However, I was given the opportunity to reorient myself due to physical limitations. I would describe the open communication between us trainees and the management level as a kind of "little family". My trainer not only has an open ear for my professional problems, but also for my private ones. If you ask me why I like being a trainee here, I could answer that simply with one word: COHESION!"

Celine Kühl, this year's addition to the trainee team:

„In addition to my start of apprenticeship, Bode Naturkost offered me the perfect start for reorientation in Hamburg. In my opinion, a warm welcome in the company and the harmonious cooperation in the team now complete the picture of a thoroughly positive working environment. Open communication, independence and flexibility provide motivation every day and demand independent working methods. Motivating project formats lead early on to conveying both personal responsibility and the ability to deal with various topics independently, and yet you can still count on any support even in problematic situations. “

Natthaly Natschke and Michelle Hoppe lead the trainee project team as a dual leadership team:

“We have already experienced the trainee project team in many constellations, starting with our own time as trainees. As former trainees of the company, we bring a valuable perspective to our role as the dual leadership of the trainee project team. We have first-hand knowledge of the challenges, expectations and opportunities associated with an apprenticeship at this company.
This experience enables us to understand the needs and concerns of current apprentices even better and to respond to them in a targeted manner. We know how important it is to receive support and at the same time have the freedom to develop and realise your own ideas. We are now looking forward to accompanying the work of the team from a different perspective and supporting a great and diverse team of trainees. The project not only provides us with an important platform for trainees from different training programmes to exchange ideas, but also gives them the space to develop their individual strengths and realise exciting projects.
Our aim is to support the trainees so that they can realise their projects with self-confidence and creativity - to the benefit of themselves and the company as a whole. We are eagerly awaiting future challenges and successes."

Nature care with #greenkayak

Our trainee project team collected trash on and along the Alster in Hamburg to help protect the environment. Equipped with kayaks from #greenkayak, grabs and gloves, they got to work picking up trash on water and on land: plastic bags, lighters, bottles and even car tires and ended up in the boat. In our small teams, everyone was motivated and had fun - the challenge was to collect the largest mountain of waste. And so we collected sacks of garbage. It is really frightening how much waste ends up in the Alster: e-scooters lie in the shallow shore area, as well as one glass bottle after another, often already overgrown and only distinguishable from the stones by their shape. In favor of our green conscience and in the sense of sustainability, we strive for a greener future and will now more often leave our beloved home a little bit better and cleaner than we found it!

Evaluation of internal sustainability at Bode

Constantly improving ourselves and regularly taking a detached look at the way we have done things so far, is part of Bode Naturkost's identity. As sustainability is our greatest concern, we also regularly rethink our internal sustainable actions.
For this reason, the trainee project team was given the responsible task of taking a closer look at our sustainability in terms of electricity, water, gas and the separation of recyclable materials and looking for improvements.
As part of this project, the team developed measures to save electricity and water, such as a checklist of things to look out for when leaving the office, tips on how to use energy sparingly and the economical use of water in the kitchen. Additionally, the trainees created a precise concept for better separation of recyclable materials. This project is designed for the long term, as we want to continuously improve in these areas.

Planting an insect bed

As part of our trainee project, we planted an insect bed on our company premises. As we know, industrious insects such as bees, bumblebees and many more make an important contribution to nature, as their work keeps our ecosystem stable.
Our insect bed is located in a sunny spot so that the plants can shine with their beautiful flowers in the years to come. We chose a seed mix that produces flowers for wild bees and bumblebees, which are especially endangered. In addition, we have planted plants that provide hiding-places for native butterflies.
Since sustainability is very important to us, this project is especially close to our hearts! To show you the difference, we have created a small photo collage. Be curious to see how our flowering miracle will develop and feel free to visit us in the future to see what other projects we realize!

Product development "nut kernel pieces mix organic"

The apprentice project team has been responsible for the entire product development of our Bode article 22760 nut kernel pieces mix organic from the idea to the market launch. The task here was to develop an item that stands for sustainability. The blend contains nut pieces that are outside the calibration of whole kernels At the same time it offers the taste of the highest quality.
In this process, the trainees made the selection of ingredients and determined the appropriate mixing ratio - for the perfect taste, the harmonious appearance and to ensure the best price-performance ratio.
The trainees succeeded brilliantly and the result is a great product!

• As part of our sustainability project, we will train colleagues on the topic of waste management and engage in social activities together.
• In order to be able to share our enthusiasm for Bode with our customers and business partners, we will shoot small image films.
• More exciting projects to follow!