Founder, family and team
Locawo started with a personal wish
I am Thomas Wiechel. Baker, founder of Locawo and someone who knows how hard changing your diet can feel when bread, pasta and real grain flavour suddenly seem out of reach.
Locawo did not begin at a desk. It grew out of many tests, honest craft and a family that stayed by my side. That is why this page is not only about me, but about the people without whom Locawo would not be Locawo.
As a baker, grain was never just another ingredient to me. It was everyday life, work and passion. At the same time, my own weight became something I could no longer push aside. A lower-carb diet sounded sensible, but for me it could only be sustainable if enjoyment did not disappear from life.
So I started testing. Ingredients, recipes, doughs, failures, new approaches. Many attempts were far away from what Locawo would later become. But at some point there was this bread coming out of the oven that not only had better nutrition values, but smelled like bread, felt like bread and created that one moment: this can really work.
That moment became a product range. The range became a shop. And my personal search became a brand for people who want to eat more consciously without deciding against enjoyment every day.
Locawo is not here to explain why restriction is good. Locawo is here to show that conscious eating can work with favourite food moments.
Thomas Wiechel, founder of Locawo
Founder family
Without my family, this path would not exist
I may be the initiator of Locawo. But this journey has been carried by people who think along, help out, motivate, test, sort, pack and sometimes simply say: keep going.
Annika
Annika knows the personal side of this journey especially well. She has lost 35 kg herself and understands why everyday enjoyment is more than a nice brand promise. Today, she is also part of the company.
Ann-Kathrin
Ann-Kathrin is my loved one, helped lead parcel shipping and was my right and left hand for a long time. Now we are incredibly excited about our twins, and she can focus fully on pregnancy and birth.
Anne and Dieter
My parents are almost eighty and still actively helping. My mother Anneliese is the good soul, labels products, cooks Locawo pasta dishes on long days and sometimes simply puts a cup of coffee down with a smile. My father Hans-Dieter, an old master baker himself, happily packs pasta and continues to support the family business.
Family
At Locawo, family is not a polished backdrop. Family means people being there when the days get long, there is a lot to do and someone still believes in the idea.
Team
The people who make Locawo possible every day
Locawo is not an anonymous industrial product. Whether family, production, packaging or shipping: real people take responsibility here and turn honest craft into real parcels.
Thomas Wiechel
Thomas connects baking craft, product idea and customer closeness. His task is to turn a personal experience into a product range that truly helps in everyday life.
Annika
Annika takes care of pasta production and packaging. She brings her own experience with change and everyday practicality directly into Locawo.
Michael
Michael completed his baker apprenticeship under Thomas in a previous company and later pursued further training as a master baker. After years in other areas, their paths crossed again by chance. Today, Michael leads production.
Jane
Jane is new to the team and has taken over the trusted shipping role so Ann-Kathrin can focus on pregnancy and birth. There is not much to tell yet, but we are very happy she is here.
Milestones
From first test to today's shop
The all-purpose flour is born
The first version of the Locawo all-purpose flour is created. The first products are developed, tasted with friends and improved step by step. Then the spark is there: Locawo should be founded to help other people facing the same challenge.
The family bakery becomes Locawo's home
The family bakery is converted, the online shop is built, and hundreds of dishes are cooked and photographed. On 31 July 2022, the first sale takes place on locawo.com. At first, the range includes flours, pasta and baking mixes. By the end of 2022, the first pre-baked breads and rolls are added due to many customer requests. This marks the start of rapid order growth.
Marketplaces, pizza bases and Annika
Locawo connects to Amazon, Kaufland, Shop Apotheke and eBay. The new pizza bases become a bestseller within only two months. Annika joins the company.
The rooms become too small
Demand grows so strongly that some products have to be removed from the range to keep production manageable in the former family bakery rooms. A second oven is purchased and the search for a larger production site begins.
The next location is planned
The lease for a new production facility in Scharnebeck is signed. Planning and approval procedures shape the year. Ann-Kathrin and Michael join the company and take on important responsibility in shipping, organisation and production.
More ideas, baby break and more future
The baked goods range grows with delicious and bold new product ideas. Jane joins the team to take over shipping from Ann-Kathrin during her baby break. Locawo is waiting for the final approvals to start converting the new production facility. It offers around ten times as much space as the previous family rooms.
When you order from Locawo, you are not ordering from an anonymous idea
Behind Locawo are real people, real craft, a personal story and a family that carries this path. That is why we take every product, every parcel and every piece of feedback personally.