Feinkost Käfer

The Käfer Group is active in the fields of retail, gastronomy, catering, and licensing.

History

Feinkost Käfer was founded in 1930 by Elsa and Paul Käfer with the opening of a colonial goods store on Amalienstraße in Munich. In 1933, they moved to larger premises at Prinzregentenstrasse 73; the Käfer flagship store is still located here today.
During the time of the Wirtschaftswunder, better times returned for the delicatessen trade. In the 1960s, sons Gerd Käfer and Helmut Käfer took over their parents' delicatessen and developed it further.
In 1988, Gerd Käfer's son, Michael Käfer, joined the management. In 1992, he took over as CEO.

Corporate Structure

The Käfer AG is a holding company and maintains various subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries:

Retail

Käfer delicatessen in the Käfer flagship store at Prinzregentenstrasse 73.
Käfer delicatessen markets: self-service cash-and-carry stores.

Gastronomy

The Käfer-Schänke restaurant in the flagship store at Prinzregentenstrasse 73 was opened in 1970; it has space for 250 guests.
The Käfer Wiesn-Schänke at the Oktoberfest, with 3,000 seats in the indoor and outdoor areas of the wooden farmhouse. Käfer was first represented at the Munich Oktoberfest with the Käfer Wiesn-Schänke in 1971.
Theater and museum gastronomy in many of Munich's state theaters and museums.
Trade fair gastronomy: since 1998 for the Messe München trade fair. Since spring 2018, also active at the Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH.
The subsidiary Käfer Schweiz AG took over the entire gastronomy at the Messe Basel of the MCH Group.
Käfer Dachgarten-Restaurant Berlin: since 1998, has operated the restaurants for the members of the Bundestag and the public rooftop garden restaurant next to the dome.
Käfer in the BMW Welt: since October 2012, Käfer has operated the gastronomy in the BMW Welt.

Catering

In addition to its headquarters in Munich, the Käfer Party Service maintains offices in Frankfurt and Basel. It serves around 200,000 guests at approximately 1,250 events annually.

Licensing

Product Licensing

Since 1986, various Käfer products have been offered in German supermarkets. Under license, Käfer offers the sale of wine, bread, smoked salmon, oil, and spice blends.
Käfer started another collaboration in 1992 with the Japanese corporation Mitsukoshi. Käfer shops were established in the department store chain in Japan, selling typical German delicacies and gifts.

Gastronomy Licensing

Käfer granted its first gastronomy license in 1999 to Allresto Flughafen München GmbH, which has since operated the Käfer Bistro am Flughafen in Terminal 1. At the end of June 2003, the second Käfer Bistro opened in Terminal 2.

Name Dispute 2017

In 2017, Feinkost Käfer took action against the Porzellanhaus Kaefer in Sohren, arguing that its online shop kaefer-shop.de did not sufficiently differentiate itself from Feinkost Käfer. The companies reached an amicable agreement.

Awards

Since 2015: Two Michelin stars for the restaurant EssZimmer in the BMW Welt, under chef Bobby Bräuer until 2024.

Literature

Erich Lejeune: