Simple, clear, reliable

Every week we surprise our customers with a new assortment of consumer goods based on a different theme. We develop the majority of these items ourselves and sell them exclusively. We advertise our products in various media, using a range of channels. Consumer protection is always a priority, be it in posters, leaflets, the Tchibo Magazine, on TV or online.

Accurate information, clear messages: our advertising

Clarity and honesty are defining characteristics of our advertising. In addition to mandatory product information such as weight, number of items or dimensions, we give further information that our customers could be interested in and clearly indicate, for instance, the intended purpose and possible uses of the product. We prepare all advertising in compliance with the core principles of competition law, including the basic rule that advertising must not be misleading.

Services; A traffic-light system for efficient consumer protection

We complement our range of consumer goods and coffee with a comprehensive selection of diverse services, ranging from cookery classes to travel and green electricity. In these areas, we cooperate with external service providers. However, we do not outsource our responsibility. On developing new initiatives for cooperation, we investigate in detail whether the proposed services meet our high demands as regards consumer protection. An inter-departmental team, consisting of colleagues from the product management, Corporate Communications, legal, quality management and Corporate Responsibility departments, checks and assesses new ideas using a “traffic-light system”.

• Green: an idea will only be further pursued if all departments agree. 
• Amber: if an idea is considered to be problematic by only one Head of Department, we will consult at least one expert when pursuing it further.
  
• Red: after a negative assessment by at least two Heads of Department, the idea is not pursued any further.

Our collaboration with imug

If our “traffic light” indicates “amber” for ideas in the service sector, we consult external experts from the Hanover-based imug consultancy (imug Beratungsgesellschaft für sozial ökologische Innovationen mbH) as required. imug, a spin-off of the University of Hanover, specialises in surveys and company evaluations in the areas of sustainability and consumer protection. As required, imug will review selected services in relation to their consumer protection aspects before they are introduced to the market. In particular, they will do market and background research on the proposed service and the advertising claims planned for it.