Flower woman Elisabeth Brandl says goodbye after 38 years in Niehl

Flower woman Elisabeth Brandl says goodbye after 38 years in Niehl

After 38 years of tireless work at the weekly markets in Cologne, Elisabeth Brandl is retiring. She experienced her last hours at the colorful market stall at the weekly Thanksgiving market in Niehl, followed by an emotional finale in Longerich. “I always enjoyed the contact with people,” says the trained grocery clerk, looking back on her time selling flowers, which she started on the advice of her son. Even today she still relies on regional, natural flowers because she is an allergy sufferer herself and only wants the best for her customers, reports Review.

Elisabeth was not only regularly active at the Niehler Markt, but also at Sudermanplatz, in Agnesveedel and on Mondays in Nippes. Your colleagues say goodbye with a smile. “If you get bored, you can work with us,” said one of her market companions jokingly. But Elisabeth seriously wants to leave the physically demanding work behind and regenerate herself in retirement. A family vacation in Bad Ischl, Austria, is planned to recharge your batteries.

The challenges in selling flowers

During her long career in the markets, Brandl has also experienced the challenges of selling flowers first hand. Young talent for this industry remains a problem child as the work is often considered hard. A successor for her will be sought at the Niehler Markt shortly at the latest, but there is not much hope for this. Their furthest supplier was in Mönchengladbach and supplied them with magnificent roses.

The weekly markets are surprisingly varied in terms of frequency. The weekends in particular attract a lot of people. This is an interesting opportunity to buy regional products, often fresher and more direct than in the supermarkets. By shopping at the markets, you not only strengthen the local economy, but also preserve rural cultural landscapes, as the consumer advice center from Saxony emphasizes in its article about regional food.

Future prospects and changes

Elisabeth Brandl has already been liquidating her warehouse since June, and her former sales trailer will soon be converted into a mobile coffee stand - a breath of fresh air for the former flower stand. The question of what will happen to the flower stalls in the future also remains in the markets. Competition is becoming fiercer, not least due to online offers and large retail chains. But customer loyalty to regional products is strong, and weekly markets in particular continue to enjoy great popularity.

Customers in particular appreciate the effort and dedication that goes into a flower stand. Contact and direct conversation are indispensable parts of market day that are rarely found in a supermarket. This remains one of the great strengths of local providers, and this is exactly where the future generation will have to have a good hand if they want to follow in Elisabeth Brandl's footsteps.