Hamburg-Mitte district: Weekly markets of the future

In a customised process, we worked with the Hamburg-Mitte district to develop over 40 measures to reposition the weekly markets.

The challenge

With their idea of sustainable, regional, high-quality and inexpensive food supplies, weekly markets should actually be in tune with the times. However, a contrary trend is recognisable. The markets in the Hamburg-Mitte district have been attracting fewer and fewer visitors for years.

With the aim of making the weekly markets more sustainable, we were commissioned to carry out an innovation process. Under the title "Weekly markets of the future", we started with an interdisciplinary project team in which we brought together three important players: The administration (Mitte district), politics (Committee for Weekly Markets) and the traders*. This group was complemented by four creative minds who supported the team with innovative approaches and their expertise in developing open ideas.

Output: Catalogue of measures for the future

In total, over 40 different measures were developed to reposition the weekly markets. Specific recommendations for action were also developed, which briefly summarise possible solutions to the problems. The joint process also ensured that all parties involved see themselves as a team working towards a common vision - to preserve the weekly markets in the long term. Because only together can traders, the Mitte district and politicians tackle such a large and complex task.

Format & method

In addition to specific formats, we also offer individual innovation processes. We focus intensively on the company's problem and develop a customised cross-innovation process for an optimal result. In the Weekly Markets of the Future project, the process was as follows:

• Field research: The field research involved identifying the problems and developing an understanding of them. To this end, we conducted surveys with visitors, non-visitors and traders. With the help of questionnaires and short interviews, the aim was to understand the status quo with active empathy. In the first two workshops, all problems and issues were first identified and clustered based on the findings from the surveys and interviews. In the next step, the workshop participants focussed on exemplary visitor types (personas) and their customer journey in order to better understand the needs of the customers.
• Idea development: In the third workshop, a large number of different ideas were developed based on the respective core questions in the groups using creative methods. The ideas were repeatedly subjected to feedback loops within the groups, but also among the groups, and thus constantly improved. On the fourth day of the workshop, the ideas had to undergo an initial review by an external feedback group.
• Test phase: In the test phase, three ideas were tried out in practice to see how retailers and visitors accepted and evaluated them. Based on the feedback, the ideas were further improved or discarded.
• Implementation: Two further workshops were held after the test phase. In the first workshop, the test phase was reflected upon and the tested ideas were improved based on practical experience. In the second workshop, all the experience gained during the process was reflected upon and translated into concrete recommendations for action by the participants.

Team: Wilfried Thal (Chairman of LAGS Hamburg e.V.), Norbert Bloch (Deputy Chairman of LAGS Hamburg e.V.), Ralf Bekker (Chairman of Markt Hamm), Markus Jordan (Head of the Department of Consumer Protection, Trade and Environment), Jessica Feldmann (Team Leader Market Law), Carsten Wenzel (Field Staff), Anna-Christin Nitzsche (Hamburg DOM, Harbour Birthday, district markets), James Blum (FDP), Daniela Aust (CDU), Ali Kazanci (SPD), Theresa Jakob (Die Linke), Henrike Wehrkamp (Grüne), Simone Wendel, Jessica Louis, Melanie Obrist, Ralf Harder