2024 EIFEL Award Goes to WHU Start-Up

Rosengasse 10, in the Town of Mayen, is home to a small gray shipping container housing a row of vending machines—but beyond just chips and soda, they offer fresh, regionally sourced foods. Over the past few months, container stores have been steadily popping up around the more suburban and rural areas of Mayen-Koblenz. Behind the push is Local2Go, a start-up founded by Florian Bales and WHU bachelor student Emely Junker (BSc 2025) last year. And now, the business has won the 2024 EIFEL Award in the “digitalization” category.

The company follows the “Herr Anton principle,” a business model invented by entrepreneur Dirk Hensing in Emsdetten in 2020. The idea is to install vending machines and container stores where shoppers can procure everything from fresh meats and cheeses to fruits and vegetables with the simple touch of a button. Where traditional stores have predefined operating hours, container stores are accessible round the clock every day of the year. And there is large demand for such outposts, particularly in more rural areas, where grocery store coverage is somewhat limited and weekly shopping requires customers to travel longer distances—for example, in the Eifel.

“It’s exciting to be part of Herr Anton and to be assisting in the continued development of this innovative concept every day,” said Emely Junker. “Winning the EIFEL Award reaffirms our work in a major way. We have a lot planned for the future, and I’m excited to continue carving out this path.” Currently, Local2Go operates 125 vending machines at 45 different locations around Mayen-Koblenz, using digital analyses to determine which products are in high demand. By mid-2025, the company plans to install an additional 200 vending machines, both in- and outside the area, and eventually supply food to the whole of the Eifel.

Local2Go is proof that start-ups in Germany can find success even when headquartered far away from major hubs such as Berlin or Munich. WHU’s aspiring entrepreneurs are finding new ways to have a long-lasting positive effect on the region where they study.

The 2024 EIFEL Award

The 2024 EIFEL Award ceremony was held on November 19, 2024, at the Stadthalle Bitburg, honoring 23 different companies and initiatives that are advancing digital innovation in the Eifel region. Behind the annual event is the Zukunftsinitiative Eifel, which bestows each winner with an official plaque and trophy.

Herr Anton container stores

Herr Anton container stores are the brainchild of Dirk Hensing, Managing Director of Hensing GmbH in Emsdetten, North Rhine-Westphalia. What makes these stores so unique is that they require no staff presence, yet customers can still use the provided vending machines to shop any time, day or night. The products available can be filled according to demand at each location. Herr Anton vending machines and container stores are available across Germany, providing food to the country’s more rural locations.