Nagel-Group founds Corporate Venture LEAFR
Hamburg. July 4, 2023. Nagel-Group founds its first corporate venture with LEAFR. LEAFR develops modern solutions for the last mile with temperature-controlled products. The Hamburg-based start-up relies on fully battery-powered vehicles and state-of-the-art logistics management to provide an innovative solution for refrigerated food logistics in the city.
Bastian Schwarz, Sören Loeck and Maurice Landwehr, long-serving employees of the Nagel Group, are the founders of the corporate venture LEAFR. “We want to play an active role in ensuring that temperature-controlled parcels are delivered in city centres using battery-powered vehicles,” says Maurice Landwehr, CEO of LEAFR. Operations commenced in Hamburg in March 2023.
“The idea for LEAFR originated within the company and was further developed with the help of our Innovation Team. We strongly believe that effective city logistics solutions will be in high demand in the future. LEAFR is already a strong partner for the Nagel-Group in Hamburg – and the team has set big goals for other metropolitan regions as well,” says Carsten Taucke, CEO of the Nagel-Group.
“In contrast to other providers, we at LEAFR do not use additional plastic waste, which is created by the use of Styrofoam boxes or cold packs, among other things, and instead focus on an active cold chain all the way to the recipient,” explains Maurice Landwehr.
The LEAFR team relies on customized cooling boxes that are integrated into the electric vehicles and guarantee a continuous, regulated cold chain all the way to the recipient of the goods. “Through this approach, LEAFR aims to ensure the freshness of the food it delivers,” emphasises Bastian Schwarz, CTO at LEAFR.
To ensure logistical handling, LEAFR has rented a hall with around 200 square meters directly next to the Nagel-Group site in Hamburg-Allermöhe. Small consignments are picked there and delivered in the Hamburg city area. Sören Loeck, COO at LEAFR, explains: “At the start, we will primarily deliver existing small consignments from the Nagel network. Our recipients already include a large number of retailers, restaurants, hotels and gas stations. In some cases, however, we also deliver to private households, other delivery services or retirement homes.”
LEAFR has been operational on the streets of Hamburg for just under four months, making several daily tours throughout the city. The team now consists of eight employees. In the coming months, the team plans to further increase shipment volumes, build new partnerships, and become the leading provider of modern food logistics in Hamburg. LEAFR focuses on companies that are looking to innovate their supply chains or to deliver small parcels to city centres.
At the end of the year, LEAFR plans to set up its own micro-hub, a small-scale warehouse in the city center, to further optimize the efficiency of deliveries. The fleet will then be supplemented by electric cargo bikes with an active cooling solution.
