The Hamburg-based beverage manufacturer Premium Cola deliberately does many things that are not in line with the textbooks of business management – and still enjoys lasting success. The company refrains from making profits, is organized on a grassroots democratic basis and does not enter into any contracts with business partners – and from a sustainability point of view, the arguments are quite sound.
The conventional image of an entrepreneur is that of a profit-oriented person who has a lot of “subordinates” in the company hierarchy, takes risks and earns a lot from them. Where the idea is not good enough or the business is not run efficiently enough, entrepreneurs end up bankrupt. Very few people realize that there is another way of doing business that also works well. Premium Cola’s philosophy critically scrutinizes the false incentives of the capitalist system and shows that other approaches are entirely possible and also make sense from a sustainability perspective.
Profit as a bad sign
In terms of income and expenditure, the company’s goal is to stay in the black. This means that all costs are covered and everyone involved is paid, and a reserve of one cent per bottle is set aside for a rainy day. It should not be more, because the “more” would mean that either suppliers are squeezed for prices, customers pay too much, or employees receive too little pay – and that just so that the management’s share increases. The salary for employees of the company is a further expression of the fact that hierarchies are out of place. All employees, regardless of their position, receive a gross wage of 20 euros per hour, including the founders. The amount of the salary was determined jointly; there are supplements for employees with children or people with disabilities. In this way, capitalist disincentives should be questioned: do I always need a higher income? If so, what for?
For the company, staying in the black is a sign that it is doing everything right. No one sees any reason for further growth. Although growth could be accelerated through internationalization, there is certainly interest from other markets. However, this would mean that the company’s ecological balance sheet would deteriorate many times over as a result of shipping the crates. Instead, the aim is to grow moderately, not for profit, but to offer people jobs and make the model interesting for outsiders.
Consensus yes, contracts no
Another feature that you probably have to look longer for in other companies is Premium’s approach to consensus democracy. What counts here is the idea that everyone involved in the company has equal rights. This means that everyone has the opportunity to veto decisions and stop the process. As a result, Premium shapes a culture that is all about moving forward together, so that ideally nobody has to make use of this power. This approach has also proved to be very successful when dealing with business partners. The company has a total of 1,680 partners and there are no written contracts with any of them. However, there have been no legal disputes to date. Instead, the relationships are based on trust, community and co-determination, without directives as to where things should go. Regular communication is of course essential, which is why decisions are also made by email in addition to face-to-face meetings.
If not profit, then what?
The aim of Premium is quickly summarized: more human collaboration. For the company, the current economic system sets the wrong incentives, resulting in overproduction, resource scarcity, climate change and exploitation worldwide. In the end, everyone should feel that they are being treated fairly: the organization team, the bottlers, the beverage suppliers, the retailers, the restaurateurs and all customers who get involved. The company’s products already show that alternative approaches are possible – of course, it is debatable whether the world needs Coke. Premium’s approach, however, shows that even the production of a capitalist drink such as cola allows for other economic forms.
