Germany's original greens Wellness shops hold their own against new rivals

Wellness, organics and sustainability have become buzzwords in consumer marketing, but the popularisation of "green" lifestyles is creating challenges for the German retailers that pioneered these products.

- Deborah Cole

With the country in the middle of the festive shopping season, the Reformhaus cooperative, a long-established promoter of homegrown health and beauty, has been morphing - gently - to stay competitive against incursions from discounters, inflation and shifting consumer habits.

The retailer, a unique mix of organic food store, nutritional supplement shop, alternative medicine purveyor, no-additives cosmetic source and knitwear emporium, has been a star in the German commerce firmament for generations. With its roots in the 19th-century Lebensreform (life reform) movement, which embraced nature and rejected industrialisation, Reformhaus stores are independently operated as individually owned stores or regional chains, with centralised purchasing and marketing.

With an unmatched tea and slipper selection, the outlets also conjure a Gemütlichkeit (warmth and good cheer) becoming increasingly rare today.