Our year in review
The year 2018 is drawing to a close.
For us it was an inspiring, beautiful and eventful year with many wonderful moments and amazing rescuers.
Every day, more than 1,200 customers rescue food at our three rescue markets in Berlin and our online shop . In recent months, we've been able to return more than 1.9 million products to circulation. Not only has our product range increased from 30 to over 400 items, but the SIRPLUS team has also grown from 15 to over 70 dedicated rescuers.
We would like to take this moment to look back on the last 365 days with you and to say a huge thank you for your support and trust - SIRPLUS is only possible thanks to you.
In January, four months after opening our first rescue market at Wilmersdorfer Straße 59 in Berlin Charlottenburg, we launched our online shop . Now, people all over Germany can actively participate in rescuing food from the comfort of their own homes. We already have over 200 different products in our online shop, and new ones are added every week.
The many new products we've rescued since our initial opening have also led to our move to a new, 1000 square meter warehouse . Here, we store more than 250,000 products just waiting to be rescued by you.
In March, we unveiled the world's first Rett-O-Mat (rescue machine) on the EUREF Campus. Here, rescues can be carried out at any time of day.
Credentials: OsceDays
On April 18th, we were thrilled to receive the "Oscar of Food Rescue," the " Too Good to Waste " award, for our commitment to combating food waste. The award was presented to us by Federal Minister Julia Klöckner and celebrity chef Christian Rach. Beyond the award itself, we were especially pleased that the issue of food waste is gaining increasing attention and that more and more people and organizations are working to promote the appreciation of our food.
In addition to rescuing food, we wanted to raise awareness about food waste and show people simple ways to reduce their own waste, so we created a dedicated department. Our wonderful Johanna (Education Project Manager) has been working tirelessly ever since, through various events and workshops, to encourage more people to participate in food rescue at home, including through regular, free food rescue tours.
Thanks to WIN Creating Images , we now have a great corporate identity that reflects our values and creates a distinctive overall image.
A huge thank you to the Sustainability Unit at WIN, who made this pro bono project possible.
In June, Collien Ulmen-Fernandes visited our rescue market in Berlin Charlottenburg as part of the "Tagwerk" (Day's Work) campaign and helped to save food.
On July 3rd, the next big highlight was just around the corner: the opening of our second rescue market in Berlin Steglitz.
Within three weeks, we transformed the former drugstore, where we even managed to salvage the shelving, into a 450m² paradise of rescued goods. Every day, many fantastic new products arrive, and the store becomes more beautiful and well-stocked week by week. 
Since the summer, rescuing food has become even more convenient in our online shop – with our Rescue Box subscriptions. Whether you're looking for organic, vegan, vegetarian, or office supplies, you can have your Rescue Boxes delivered directly to your home every 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks. 
On July 4th, our founder Raphael Fellmer was a guest on Markus Lanz's show and talked about his money strike, food waste and SIRPLUS.
Since July 27th, you can find us every Friday and Saturday at Markthalle Neun in Berlin Kreuzberg. This means that people in the eastern part of the capital can now also actively participate in the rescue efforts.
Credentials: Markthalle Neun
We spent the wonderful summer at many festivals in the Berlin area and, together with Querfeld , provided you with many rescued treats and fresh juices. 
Since September, three refugees who had already completed their entry-level qualification at SIRPLUS have started an apprenticeship.
We are incredibly happy about this valuable addition to our team. 
To give you even more insights behind the scenes of SIRPLUS and to answer your questions, a rescue tour takes place every first Tuesday of the month in our rescue market in Berlin Steglitz.
Come visit us sometime :)
September was also the month of TV appearances for SIRPLUS.
We were guests on ' Der beste Deal ' on ARD and ' Life ' on RTL. It's really great to see that the topic is increasingly gaining media attention and that so many people consider change necessary and are committed to making it happen.
On September 7th, we were able to celebrate one year of SIRPLUS .
At this point, we would like to extend our sincere thanks once again to all of you, our supporters, our heroes, and our partners who are working with us to promote greater appreciation for food.
In September we also attended several events such as the foodsharing Festival, the Day of German Industry and the Green World Tour by Autarkia.
After spending 1.5 wonderful years with Climate-KIC in the Green Garage, we moved into the Infralab on the EUREF Campus at the beginning of October.
Autumn has also ushered in the canning season, which we celebrated with our first canning workshop with the butcher shop. Sarah and Johanna regularly show you how to preserve your food at home for longer.
We now have over 300 great partners who work with us to rescue food and promote its appreciation.
To celebrate this, we held our first partner event in October.
At the end of the month, our founder Raphael Fellmer was appointed an Ashoka Fellow . A fantastic promotional video featuring Raphael and SIRPLUS was also created, which we wanted to share with you.
November was packed with further honors and many great events.
We received the Sustainability Award for Family Farms and Forests and are proud winners of the Green Buddy Award in the Retail category. Furthermore, we were selected as one of the 100 most innovative startups in Germany – thank you so much for this fantastic recognition!
With the generous support of Berlin's waste management company (BSR), we, together with Sophia Hofmann and Linda Lezius, celebrated the first #WasteFriday with a very special dinner. For one evening, we put bread in the spotlight and served an exquisite five-course meal .
Whether it was changes to school catering, organizing a film evening, or the surprise at the best-before date - all of this was the topic of our first rescue event for students .
To introduce even more people to rescued food and to help them overcome any hesitation about eating products past their best-before date, we've been participating in Street Food Thursday at Markthalle Neun since the end of November. Our wonderful chef, RJ, prepares a dish there made entirely from rescued food.
Not only can delicious rescued dishes be saved at Street Food Thursday, but we also had some great catering events this year, such as for the Boston Consulting Group, the WWF and the Greens.
Another highlight was the opening of our third Rettermarkt in the East Side Mall on Warschauer Straße.
By moving into the mall, we want to reach even more people and bring food rescue to the forefront of society.
In addition, STERN magazine dedicated an issue to the appreciation of our food and also a whole page to SIRPLUS.
The last month of 2018 began with a truly wonderful honor.
On December 7th, our founders Martin and Raphael went to the German Sustainability Award and won the Next Economy Award in the Resources category.
We are also proud to present the first SIRPLUS product.
To ensure that good intentions for the new year are put directly into practice, the annual subscription to the Retterbox allows you to rescue even more and at a lower cost.
That was in 2018. That was 1000 tons of food saved.
We are looking forward to next year.
Wishing you a Happy New Year and a fulfilling and healthy year!
All the best, your SIRPLUS Team
