It's late morning at the REWE supermarket in Hanover. The vegetable section is gleaming. Konstantin Tönnies positions a magnificent cauliflower between the romaine lettuce and fennel, checks its freshness, breaks off a leaf and smiles. With a practised grip, he stages the produce. Almost like a photo shoot - and indeed: a few years ago, Tönnies was still behind the camera, working as a freelance photographer for ministries, medium-sized companies and magazines. Today, however, he is in the centre of the market, a trainee with merchant Florian Potrykus. As soon as the cauliflower is arranged, a customer approaches him. "Where can I find the good olive oil?" - "Next to the flour, just over there on the left. Come on, I'll show you." Friendly, present, quick on the uptake.

Tönnies loves these moments. "Direct contact with people - that's what I also appreciated about photography. It's just that here I experience much more directly how I can make a difference." He hasn't given up the camera completely. But now he is focussing on other things: Customer needs, employee motivation, product range design, sustainable processes. Potrykus calls him a "career changer with a plan". Someone who scrutinises many things - and provides answers that are often surprisingly simple and pragmatic.

The world through the camera - and then: back to his roots

It was not foreseeable for a long time that his path would eventually lead him into retail. Yet Tönnies comes from a family of merchants. His parents have run a REWE supermarket in Odenthal in the Bergisches Land region for over 25 years. As a child, Konstantin dreamed of running the shop together with his father later on. "It was written on a piece of paper that I filled out in third grade. My mum still has it today."

But first he deliberately chose a different path. After leaving school, he completed his community service, tried his hand at studying business administration in the Netherlands - and ended up backpacking through Australia and New Zealand for a year. There he worked in melon fields, drove lorries through the outback, lived in hostels and collected stories. Stories that led him to the camera. He began studying "Photojournalism and Documentary Photography" in Hanover, financed himself as a freelancer for NDR, photographed weddings and for organisations such as the SPD and gave photography workshops for the state association for cultural youth education.

His passion was for long-term projects: In Jokkmokk, north of the Arctic Circle, he accompanied a Sami reindeer herding family for years. "That's where I learnt what it means to build trust, to persevere and to look closely. Skills that still help me in the market today."

From the camera to the till - and into the office

The switch back to retail didn't happen suddenly - but it was a logical one. "In photography, you often have to make advance payments and hope that a magazine will print your project. The uncertainty became too much for me over time. At the same time, I realised how much I missed working with people - not just as an observer, but as part of a team." An internship at an agricultural publishing company provided the impetus: Tönnies was fascinated by how far agricultural production had moved away from the supermarket experience - and how great the potential was to create proximity again.

Instead of joining his parents' business, he made a conscious decision to make a fresh start - in Hanover, where he has lived for over a decade. His children Paul (6) and Suri (2) are at home here. His son lives with his ex-partner, alternating between his mother and father. "Parental leave was a matter of course for me. But it's still rather unusual in retail - especially for men." REWE encouraged him in this, however. "I felt like I was taken seriously, even with my non-straightforward CV."

He applied for the trainee position to become an independent REWE salesman, which is only advertised once a year in the North region - and was successful. Tönnies is now right in the thick of things at the store. He helps with the goods, organises secondary placements, talks to suppliers, but also takes part in management meetings. In one of these meetings, he sits in the boss's small office. On the monitor: last week's sales figures. Tönnies concentrates on analysing the development of individual product groups. "Frozen products have picked up, but fresh produce needs to do better again." He calmly but firmly puts forward his ideas. His store manager praises his perspective: "He comes from outside, asks good questions, thinks creatively and in a structured way. He brings in a lot of ideas, which is how we continue to develop. Standing still is a step backwards."

Between responsibility and vision

Konstantin Tönnies is not someone who simply takes things over. Neither family expectations nor standardised processes. He wants to understand, improve and create. He has already done this in his photography work - and today in the fruit and vegetable department or in product range planning. He and his store manager Florian Potrykus are united by their desire to develop the retail business further - without losing sight of the people. "It is important that the employees feel seen, that we are a team. And that our customers feel that too."

The roots: a market with heart - and family

It is obvious that he learnt this attitude not from a textbook, but from his parents. Anyone who visits his parents' store in Odenthal immediately realises what it means when customer proximity is more than just a concept. People still greet each other here. People know each other here. Here, help is given before anyone asks. Dietmar Tönnies (64), Konstantin's father, describes the shop as a "food meeting place", while his wife Franzis (65) radiates a warmth that makes many customers want to come back. Grandma (90) also drops by regularly to help or simply say hello. Humanity is not a strategy here, but an attitude - and an everyday reality.

In 2024, the store was honoured with the Supermarket Stars Award as the best team in Germany - a recognition of diversity, social responsibility and cooperation that goes far beyond the usual. 65 employees from eleven nations, including people with disabilities, form a close-knit community.

Konstantin Tönnies took a lot with him there. An eye for detail. The demand for quality. But above all, a sense for the essentials: "If you like people, you are automatically helpful and friendly. You can learn the technical skills. You have to have the right attitude," says his father. Dietmar Tönnies has no problem with his son not taking over the market - on the contrary. "Konstantin should go his own way. The fact that he is doing so - with heart and attitude - makes us proud." The family name remains part of the business. But the story is being rewritten (in Hanover).

"First I went out into the world and got to know them. Now I'm inviting them into my home - with the products, with the employees and very different customers. And I'm really looking forward to that."