To all the meat-lovers out there, we at inventures.eu have some good news for you! Austrian startup Le Foodink has launched online shop Porcella, offering more than 200 premium meat products from organic farmers in Upper Austria.
Reviving a piece of Austrian culture
When co-founders Miriam Strobach and Gregor Einetter, the team behind Le Foodink, started working together, they found common interest in food and drink. “Food brings people together,” said Einetter, “and we both want to know where the products we eat come from.”
Founded in 2011, Le Foodink is a team of four designers, entrepreneurs and developers that offer their services to companies in the food industry (think design for cookbooks, wine bottle logos, apps and websites). Porcella, which is Italian for ‘female piglet’, is their first own project. What began as a long search for high-quality meat, quickly turned into an idea for a business.
After extensive research, the couple learned about the drastic decrease of butchers in Vienna, from 2.000 butchers in 1960 to 159 in 2012. Farmers on the countryside, too, face difficulties as laws make it almost impossible for them to get the required licenses. What used to be part of the Austrian culture has now turned into mass production.
The Le Foodink team pays specific attention to traditional and trustworthy meat production. “We were motivated to go back to the roots and change the industry’s standards,” said Einetter. The couple found one of the last organic butchers, Roman Schober, in Gars am Kamp and more than 30 organic farmers from the Waldviertel region. “We buy their meat and sell it on Porcella,” Einetter told inventures.eu. Local butcher Roman Schober underlines the importance of a “stress-free” environment for the animals, which apparently enhances the meat quality.
Focus on local rarities
Have you ever had Waldviertler Blondvieh t-bone steak or a schnitzel from the Turopolje pork? On Porcella, you can order them overnight, vacuum-packed and cooled, so it stays fresh and juicy.
Similar online services aren’t regarded as competition. “I don’t think you can compare here,” said Einetter, “we have a completely different focus.” While most online food services such as kochabo.at try to help busy customers, who can never quite seem to make it to the grocery store before 7 p.m., Porcella is for meat-lovers who reject the industry’s cheap and cruel animal treatment and want to know what they are putting in their mouths. “Austrians have become more aware of this problem,” said Einetter, noticing a positive trend.
Porcella’s customers are exclusively private and help preserve rare animal breeds by paying between 2 to 5 euros per 100 grammes, depending on the meat and cut. That t-bone steak mentioned above would equal to 28 euros a piece.
With their third delivery date coming up in a few days, Einetter seemed to look forward to Porcella’s future. “We have worked on this project for about eight months before launching the website,” he said. “It’s our little contribution to help change the way people eat.”
Barbecue, anyone? It’s summer time after all.
