WP 2 – Identification of Best Practices in the Collective Commercial Valorisation of Alpine Food ICH WP leader: Kedge Business School

Activity A.T2.2 Field Study of Relevant Cases of Success: Ökomodell Achental e.V.

Involved partners: Florian Ortanderl University of Applied Sciences

This project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg Alpine Space programme.

Abstract

The initiative Ökomodell Achental started in 1997 to coordinate regional food marketing activities under a common label to support the small-scale farming operations in the region. In the agricultural part of the initiative, a survey was conducted to create an overview of the regional farmers and food producers, the farming businesses received professional consulting for the diversification of their businesses and the possibility to change to certified organic production. A quality label certifying regional ingredients, as well as authentic and close-to-nature production within the region was created. Even though the initiative does not focus explicitly on Alpine food intangible cultural heritage, it had a significant impact on safeguarding and valorising traditional techniques of farming and food production, shaping the cultural landscape of the region. The association has been working on the subject continuously and manages to achieve effective visibility and awareness building for the associated farmers and food producers.

Kurzfassung

Die Initiative Ökomodell Achental began bereits 1997 mit der Koordinierung regionaler Lebensmittelvermarktung unter einem gemeinsamen Label, um die kleinteilige Landwirtschaft der Region zu unterstützen. Im landwirtschaftlichen Teil des Projekt wurde zunächst eine breitgestreute Befragung durchgeführt, um sich einen Überblick über die regionalen Landwirte und Lebensmittelproduzenten zu gewinnen. Die Landwirte erhielten anschließend professionelle Beratung bezüglich der Diversifizierung ihrer Betriebe und dem Umstieg auf ökologische Produktion. Ein Qualitätslabel für Lebensmittel wurde entwickelt, das die regionale Herkunft der Zutaten, als auch eine authentische, naturnahe Produktion in der Region garantiert. Obwohl sich die Initiative nicht explizit auf das immaterielle Kulturerbe der Lebensmittel im Alpenraum fokussiert, hatte sie einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf die Erhaltung und In-Wert-Setzung traditioneller Arten der Landwirtschaft und Lebensmittelherstellung, sowie die Kulturlandschaft der Region. Der Verein Ökomodell Achental e.V. hat an diesem Ansatz kontinuierlich weitergearbeitet und erzielt damit effektiv Sichtbarkeit und Bewusstseinsbildung für die involvierten Landwirte und Lebensmittelproduzenten.

1.1 Case typology, geographical scope and main goals

The Achental is a pre-Alpine/Alpine region in southern Upper with more than 33,000 inhabitants. About 30% of the area are nature reserves and roughly half of the area is covered by forests. The agriculture in the valleys and on the alps (high-mountain pastures) is organised in small rural structures and consists mainly of dairy cattle farming. Apart from agriculture, the main local economic sectors are tourism, small handicraft businesses and commercial enterprises.

The Association Ökomodell Achental e.V. was founded in 1999 to address the difficulties of the region during the 1990s with preserving the local small rural agricultural operations, which originally shaped the cultural landscape of the region and made it attractive as a holiday destination. The challenges included ensuring the attractiveness of the Achental as a living area for residents and especially young people and promoting value creation within the region. The strategy was based on four pillars:

• Preservation of the natural and cultural landscape; • Safeguarding of small farming operations and marketing of products within the region;

• Promotion and development of sustainable tourism and trade; • Reinforced usage of renewable energy sources from the region.

1.2 Methodological Procedures For this case study, the following data have been collected and analysed: - 1 interview with the manager of the association; - 1 interview with one of the associated producers; - Photo documentation of the offer of one of the regional supermarkets; - Report: Ökomodell Achental/Leuktental, Abschlussbericht für den Bereich Landwirtschaft zur INTERREGII Förderphase 1998-2001 - Communication materials provided by the association; Web sites of the association and the regio-app monitored and analysed: http://www.oekomodell.de/ https://www.regioapp.org

1.3 Evaluation

1.3.1 Key Internal and External Processes

Main actors involved

The Ökomodell Achental e.V. is an association. The Municipalities of Bergen, Grabenstätt, Grassau, , , , Staudach-Egerndach, Übersee and Unterwössen are members of the associations, and are represented in the plenary assembly by their mayors with 3 votes per municipality. About 70 regional farmers and food producers are also full members of the association and entitled to vote on decisions. The association employs a manager and two permanent employees, and is supported by permanent work groups on specific topics with broad involvement of the local population. Temporary work groups for different projects are also coordinated by the association.

Figure 1: Organisational chart of the Ökomodell Achental

source: simplified English version, based on original from oekomodell.de

Internal and external processes In the beginning phase of the initiative from 1998 to 2001, the focus was laid on structural changes in the business model of the region’s struggling small-scale farming operations. The initiative organised individual consulting for the farmers for development options, including the change to ecological farming standards and diversification through added branches like farming with mother cows, sheep, goats, horses and deer, offering farm holidays, direct selling of their products and firewood or public contracts for landscape conservation.

To support farmers and food producers’ direct selling, a regional quality label was developed. The association certifies local products and provides promotional material with a common design (stickers for products), adds the producers to their online registry and prints/distributes a brochure for farmers and producer which sell directly to the consumer. The quality criteria for each product group have been co-developed with the local producers through dedicated workshops, which have been organised and moderated by the Ökomodell Achental e.V. In the workshop, the regional producers participate in a discourse to define standards of production which they consider authentic, close-to-nature and regional. This approach contributes to the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage by including traditional production techniques and agricultural practices. While the standards also include the production of new and innovative products, the use of regional primary products as ingredients still contribute to the safeguarding of the cultural landscape. Until the end of 2001, standards had been developed for the following products and categories: A standard for beef/mutton/poultry (for direct marketing farmers/producers, as well as suppliers to other users of the brand), an own standard for butchers, for gastronomes, for fruit/fruit products/fruit brandy, for bread, for game meat, for honey and other apiculture products, for fish, for retailers of Qualität Achental products, for

processed goods from mutton and poultry. The specifics of these standards could not be found publicly available. Figure 2: Cheese products labelled Qualität Achental

source: oekomodell.de

To have their products certified, producers have to apply for the quality label and show that they meet quality criteria. Subsequent quality control is carried out on a random basis only, since the farmers are already subject to a large number of controls and the initiative is voluntary and based on trust. A promotional brochure, showcasing the associated farmers and food producers is designed in cooperation with the initiative “Direktvermarkter im Landkreis ” (direct marketers in the district of Traunstein). Many of the farmers and food producers are interconnected and source their ingredients from each other. The association is active in a mediating role in this regard, the development of the value creation chain within the region is still subject to the managerial responsibility of the individual producers.

When the initiative started in 1999, one of the goals was also to engage in a dialogue with food retailers in the region to facilitate local producers’ access to distribution. While this was not possible for all products/producers, the Edeka stores in the region (Edeka is a German supermarket chain, which also franchises owner-managed stores) offer various local products, sometimes explicitly displayed and communicated on a “regional shelf”.

A broad spectrum of on- and offline communication channels (website, brochure, print newsletter, social media, and advertising on regional/local newspapers and regional radio stations) are used to raise awareness and promote the producers and their products. A storytelling approach has been adapted in the form of monthly articles in the regional newspaper about specific producers and their product mix, combined with a recipe with one of their products. The association also initiated a weekly farmers’ market for regional producers in 2002 to boost sales, and also promotes itself and a selection of producers at various events and thematic days throughout the year. The farmers market is still organized by Ökomodell Achental e.V. every Saturday from April until the beginning of December in the centre of the municipality Grassau, on a square opposite the tourist informatio and is frequented by both locals and tourists. In 2017, 8 producers of different

products were permanently involved in the market, other producers joined them for theme days (honey, apple harvest, etc.). Figure 2: Season Opening 2017 of the „Achentaler Bauernmarkt“

source:oekomodell.de

The marketing activities were supplemented by other actions and investments to support the local producers. In particular, the association purchased and maintains a fruit press for the collective use of association members in cooperation with the horticultural society Bergen, as well as two vacuum packaging machines. In a cooperation with selected restaurants, regional menus were developed and tested in thematic weeks. While the regional menus labeled with the Achental logo were not permanent, new supply relationships between the restaurants and producers could be established thanks to initiative.

To help the producers with direct marketing, IT-courses and English courses were offered and the region participated in the project RegioApp, a mobile app for consumers to find information and selling points of regional products. Since the association had already collected information about the regional producers for the brochure of direct sellers, data transfer into the app was relatively simple.

1.3.2 Business and Financing Model

As members of the association, the producers pay a yearly fee of € 25, which covers a certain amount of promotional material and the listing in the brochure. Additional materials (like printed cotton bags) are available for small extra charges. The association itself successfully applied for the support from different funding programs (at the state, national and EU level) over the years. The additional costs are covered by the member municipalities.

1.3.3 Economic results

In the building phase of the initiative, the economic impact was accurately measured and further potential was calculated for the report of the Interreg II project, which ended in 2002. The number of farmers producing according to eco standards of the organisations “Naturland” or “Demeter” in the Achental region

increased from 9 in 1997 (before the project started) to 45 in 2002. There was also a substantial rise of extensive pasture management (60% rise in number of farms, 37% rise in area). The calculations also show positive income effects for farmers and butchers due to the price premium for milk and beef.

For a model calculation in the year 2001, the determined average price premium for organic milk at the time was 0.125 DM/kg, considering all additional costs for organic production, the remaining profit surplus was estimated at 0.07 DM/kg. With the average milk output per organic farming business within the project region of 75,000 kg this would mean an increase of profits per year of 5250 DM for an average milk farming business. Considering the total increase in organic farming until 2002, the surplus in regional value creation through organic milk farming for the year 2002 was calculated at 252,000 DM.

According to the Qualität Achental standard for butchers, the price premium for Qualität Achental beef paid to the farmers is 0.50 DM/kg carcass weight. With an exemplary life weight of 550 kg and a carcass weight of 342 kg, the price premium would be 171 DM per cow.

No data measuring the further economic impact could be provided by the association, since the network and value chain for beef products has been restructured and the members determine their own prices over their different distribution channels according to market dynamics. The number of certified producers could be raised in the following years and has been stable since.

According to the statements of the association’s manager Mr. Wimmer, new jobs have been created, especially in the businesses of the larger direct selling producers. One examined example of a cooperating strong direct marketer (Langenspacher Hof, who is part of the association, but does not use the Achental logo on his packaging) shows that the regional producers can achieve significant price premiums. A price comparison in the Edeka supermarket in Grassau showed prices per kilogram for Langenspacher Hof pasta made from regional grain between € 5.78 and € 7.58, while comparable products from known German brand producers are priced between € 2.98 and € 3.38 per kilogram. The regional food marketing concept has reached a stage of maturity – the involved producers are content with the developed formats and no major changes are currently planned.

According to the interviewed producer, the consumers awareness for the benefits of regional food production has greatly improved within the region. Also, the solidarity among food producers and their self- identification as regional producers, especially among producers of the younger generation, has developed over the course of the initiative.

1.3.4 Evaluation of ICH commercialisation

Enabling factors and difficulties

When the initiative started in 1997, regional foods were not yet a market trends and producers had to be convinced that such an approach would end up being profitable. The initiative thus had to overcome many difficulties. Some of the measures were not successful in the long run. For example, a regional supply chain for beef was initially established by networking some breeders with a butcher’s shop. This project was abandoned later on, since new food legislation permitted the farmers to have the cattle slaughtered on their premises. The farmers now drive their cattle to the nearest slaughterhouse in the neighbouring district and sell the products directly from their farms.

In the creation of the quality label, a heated discussion had to be mediated. Should the quality label only be given to certified organic producers (which the organic producers demanded, since the Achental logo was already connected with the eco-model “Ökomodell”)? or should it also include conventional production, which would help to reach a critical mass, especially considering the small geographical scale? The decision was made to find a compromise and only include extensive forms of agriculture within the region – the positioning is shown in the following graphic from the project report:

Figure 3: Positioning of the Qualität Achental brand

source: oekomodell.de

The graphic compares the brand Qualität Achental shown in green with labels for organic farming (“Öko- Landbau”) shown in blue, regarding the represented ways of farming and their geographic scale: Organic labels include only organic farming practices on a national scale. The label Qualität Achental is more open regarding farming practices and also includes extensive ways of farming, but not conventional farming practices. On the geographic scale, the label is stricter than the organic labels, allowing only regional production and ingredients.

One important enabling factor was the central position of the association’s manager, who was already well known in the region and fostered the networking in the beginning of the building phase immensely. It was also crucial to build a stable structure that could develop the network and the brand continuously over a long period of time. According to the manager, the Achental logo reached high levels of consumer awareness and recognition as it was also used for other regional products and services (energy, wood, tourism) since 1999. This multi- industry approach also helped to integrate into the network a broader range of producers. For example, a farmer specialising on fire wood with limited food production would not have cooperated in the context of a food-specific territorial brand, but would have been more likely to do so because of previous knowledge and appreciation of the initiative in the context of energy production. The logo has been protected by the Ökomodell Achtental e.V. at as a collective trademark at the German trademark and patent office on the 13.03.2001.

Figure 4: Logo Qualität Achental

source: oekomodell.de

The most important enabling factor according to the manager was the anchoring of the association on the existing municipal structures – this assured the support of the local mayors and members of the municipal councils, who are multipliers with strong influence in the rural region.

Contribution and commercial valorisation of ICH

As conclusion of the previous analysis, the Ökomodell Achental is a cooperation of municipalities with broad involvement of the local population, that developed an effective approach to support farmers and handicraft businesses and effectively contributed to the safeguarding of small-scale, extensively producing farming businesses and food producers, which in return help to safeguard the cultural landscape of the region. While the commercial success cannot effectively be measured and varies greatly between the different businesses, the support structure which was developed within a pilot project could be installed permanently in form of the association, which is based on the municipal administrations and well established within the region. Further projects and cooperation on district level were realised since and the outlook of farmers and food producers in the region can generally described as very positive.

Reference list

AlpFoodway (2018), “Deliverable T2.1.1: Map of ICH Commercial Valorisation Practices”, available at: http://www.alpine-space.eu/projects/alpfoodway/en/project-results/downloads/wp2-marketing (accessed March 15th , 2019) http://www.oekomodell.de/

http://www.oekomodell.de/fileadmin/user_files/pdf/publikationen/publikationen_oekomodell/interregII_ abschlussbericht_landwirtschaft.pdf

https://www.regioapp.org