Whether saving food, helping the homeless or repairing bicycles sustainably: the winning teams of REWE Group Star 2025 impressively demonstrate how much commitment and creativity there is in young entrepreneurs.
Big changes often start small - as REWE Group's trainees and dual students have once again impressively demonstrated this year. For the 13th time, the internal REWE Group Star competition for young talent was all about responsibility, sustainability and social commitment. With projects that move and inspire, the young talents show how the future is actively shaped.
A total of 16 teams with 69 participants submitted their ideas - from creative sustainability initiatives to projects with added social value. The entries were assessed by an independent jury according to criteria such as added value for people, society and the environment, commitment, personal responsibility, creativity and visibility. In the end, five teams were selected to receive their awards in person from REWE Group Management Board member Daniela Büchel on 27 November 2025: "We need people like you who are committed, who have fun and enjoy the topic of Sustainability and who do more than they should."
All winning projects are united by a common guiding principle: to achieve a long-term impact for people, society and the environment. By providing assistance, donations, education and a sympathetic ear for people in need, the added value of their projects extends far beyond the moment of their action. This is why some of the initiatives live on after the competition, supported by their committed founders and future generations of trainees.
The team of dual students and trainees took up the challenge of combating food waste - an issue that has stayed with them ever since.
Team: Pia Danek, Jan Wegert, Anna-Lena Moter
SBU: Lekkerland
- Long-term food rescue at a fixed location
- Distribution to employees + donation collection for Regenbogenland children's hospice
- 3.698.21€ donation to the children's hospice (half from the Management Board)
- Rescue of 1,770 products
- future continuation as a trainee project
The ChangeMakers team is committed to helping homeless people in Cologne. Their donations were used to support the organisation Straßenwächter e. V., which provides clothing, food and hot meals.
Team: Annika Schmidt, Annalena Rath, Lana Telemann, Fabiola Villablobos
SBU: REWE Region West
- Supporting homeless people with the help of Straßenwächter e.V. by collecting donations in kind and food donations
- Care for homeless people and raising awareness of homelessness through communication about the project and the association
- 440.71 € in donations and four full trolleys of donations in kind collected + support with donation distribution
With their idea for simple bicycle repairs, the junior staff at toom wanted to show that Sustainability starts in everyday life: repairing instead of throwing away, avoiding waste and motivating customers to get on their bikes.
Team: Tobias Eischeid, Noah Konert, Florian Meilands
SBU: toom Baumarkt DIY store
- Construction of a bicycle repair station from leftover materials with a pulley system and rain-protected body to ensure function and tool condition
- Promotion of Sustainability through repair and cycling, as well as additional customer service
A spontaneous idea resulted in a charity run for Buxtehuder SV, because: sport unites! The team is committed to strengthening this important social role.
Team: Sven Cords, Tim Stemmann, Derik Volk
SBU: REWE Region North
- Organisation of a charity run with and for local youth handball clubs
- Goal: Promote access to handball and raise awareness of community, inclusion and solidarity
- 4.604.00 € raised through 1,534 laps run and 210 visitors
The team is committed to the Frankfurt Children's Hospice in order to secure its valuable work in the long term and support families in difficult times.
Team: Mohamed-Hanin Fourka, Serhat Demiray, Ismail Bozan, David Pesic, Ouassim Fourka
SBU: REWE Region Centre
- Fundraising and public relations work for children's hospice
- Communication via self-organised events, visits to seriously ill children and analogue/digital fundraising campaigns
- 2.000.00 € in donations collected in the first year
- Project to be continued by subsequent generations of trainees
