Reformhaus Ebken

Everything has a beginning.

We took our first steps on 01.01.1960 with the small company "Frischedienst - Auslieferungslager Lothar Ebken". The old transport bus was used to deliver to health food stores in the Bremen area from our own warehouse. After a while, the small vans became trucks and the warehouse grew bigger and bigger. The term "Frischedienst - Auslieferungslager" had to be overhauled and so the new company "Roland-Reform-Auslieferungs-Service" was created. This company structure corresponds to today's ideas of classic wholesale with a special focus on health food products and the associated health food stores. Close contact between the customers and the boss Lothar Ebken Senior was always important and a great benefit for the small industry. Through this close relationship, we came to our first health food store by chance.

"So mok wi dat" became one of Lothar Ebken Senior's mottos. After concluding a contract, planning or other discussions, Lothar Ebken could be heard saying "So mok wi dat". It was clear to everyone that on April 1, 1970, the first Ebken health food store in Vechta would be taken over and continued by a colleague. This was the first step towards the company's own retail business. Three times is Bremen right, so the second and third Ebken health food stores in the Roland Center Bremen and in Syke were not long in coming and were already part of the Ebken family in 1971. His wife Gerlinde Ebken and he worked in a perfect team, so that by the year 2000 a total of 11 health food stores bore their name.

The next round begins.

After 40 years of self-employment, Lothar Ebken Senior left the company on January 1, 2000 to take his well-deserved retirement. However, customers and colleagues did not have to get used to a new name, but were able to stay with Lothar Ebken. However, he is about 30 years younger and the son of the senior. The junior was born in Bremen in 1961 and grew up in the health food store sector. The knowledge of the individual products and special features of the health food store was learned at Ebken like walking. Lothar Ebken always likes to say: "The experiences of childhood shape a person for life". So it quickly became clear to him that he didn't want to leave this particular industry again. His wife Anja Ebken was also quickly won over by the high-quality products and caught the health food fever. Lothar Ebken Junior took his first steps in the professional world as a sales representative for manufacturers. This naturally involved looking after and supplying health food stores in the north of Germany. This work also enabled Lothar Ebken to make many good contacts and, today, friendships with colleagues. In addition to his work in the field, Lothar Ebken founded the Ebken tea trading company, where he packs and sells organically grown tea.

Back to the Ebken health food store. On January 1, 2000, Lothar Ebken became junior managing director of the company and remains so to this day. The number of stores has grown steadily, so that today the Ebken family has 29 branches in north-west Germany, a head office with its own warehouse in Syke and an online store. In many respects, Lothar Ebken Junior's approach to life is that everything deserves a second or even a third chance. If a business shows a negative trend, he tries everything to achieve a turnaround. His employees are particularly close to his heart. "You can't let family members go that easily".

Wings and roots

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe already knew that children should receive two things from their parents: Roots and wings. Lothar and Anja Ebken gave their two children Lena and Tom exactly these qualities. But in a different order. After leaving school, both children flew into other sectors or learned other professions. Lena Ebken first studied to become a teacher and completed her traineeship. Tom, on the other hand, studied dual business administration in a large corporation. Both returned to their roots in 2019 and 2020 and found their place at Reformhaus Ebken. Lothar Ebken is particularly proud that the project his father started is now entering its third generation. Unfortunately, the senior is no longer able to say anything about this personally, but all three agree that he too would have wished for such a development for his company. "Collaboration within the family is something very special. Friction can quickly arise, especially between siblings. But Tom and I haven't experienced this yet and don't intend to. We get on well as a team, but we can also work well in our clearly defined areas," summarizes Lena. Together, they want to unite tradition and the future. An important part of the vision for the future is regionality, which Tom also emphasizes: "We define shopping in our home town as a long-term, important goal. With our innovative store design concept, we want to contribute to a modern, attractive city center. This way, our customers can not only shop in an environmentally friendly way, but together we also contribute to positive location factors in the cities." 

Family remains family

The Ebken health food store, which was still small 50 years ago, remains an owner-managed family business today. Lothar Ebken Senior was already pursuing a long-term mission when he founded the company. He laid the foundations for the entire company today. Values such as reliability, trust and cohesion are considered to be one of the most important pillars of the Ebken family and the company. It is clear that all employees become part of the family. Numerous employees have shaped the company for many decades. The Managing Director is very proud of and grateful for these long years of service. Lothar Ebken says: "For us, it is not relevant to achieve a good turnover or a good increase today, what is relevant for us is tomorrow." This attitude makes family businesses unique. The manager cannot be dismissed after a bad year and a new one comes in; in the Ebken team, the family itself is responsible for its family members. Today and tomorrow.