The assortment includes more than 200 items in reliable BILLA quality - from products from local producers in the neighbourhood, fresh goods such as bread, pastries, fruit, vegetables and dairy products to dry goods such as honey, pasta, juices and teas to products for daily use such as hygiene and cleaning products, handkerchiefs, toilet paper and rubbish bags.
Barrier-free access for customers of all ages
Uncomplicated and barrier-free access enables customers of all ages to enjoy a pleasant, fast and intuitive shopping experience. For example, the BILLA Regional Box is freely accessible without the additional use of a smartphone app. Inside the container, a terminal guides the customers through the payment process step by step. The products themselves are simply scanned using barcodes, and finally payment is made in cash, by ATM or credit card.
"Not everyone can always spontaneously get into their car and drive to the supermarket in the next larger town. Maybe you just forgot a special product during your weekend shopping and don't want to go back for it - Austrians who live in small communities know such problems all too well. With the new BILLA Regional Box, we have found an innovative way to ensure a basic local supply even in small towns and to support the people living there even better in their everyday lives," says Aschbacher. If the BILLA Regional Boxes are successful, the concept will be extended to other communities in other provinces.
Cooperation with the company myAcker from Spittal an der Drau
The company myAcker has already implemented its concept of flexible, regional shopping with the AckerBox nine times throughout Austria and is proud to be able to further promote the regional focus paired with state-of-the-art technology in a joint project with BILLA. Christoph Raunig, one of the two founders of myAcker: "We are very pleased about the cooperation and about the fact that we can accompany BILLA with the technology of the AckerBox and our ideas and implementations on the way to even more regionality. Our focus is on making the shopping experience for our customers as appealing as possible, but also as simple and intuitive as possible - this is the claim that unites us with BILLA."
Four BILLA Regional Box locations in Carinthia
The first four BILLA Regional Boxes went into operation on April 1st 2021 in the Carinthian communities of Mörtschach, Flattach, Baldramsdorf and Dellach (district of Spittal an der Drau). The opening ceremony took place on April 14th in the presence of Provincial Councillor Sebastian Schuschnig and the local mayors Friedrich Paulitsch (Baldramsdorf), Kurt Schober (Flattach), Richard Unterreiner (Mörtschach) and Johannes Pirker (Dellach im Drautal).
Provincial Councillor Sebastian Schuschnig describes: "Regionality and flexibility are becoming more and more important in purchasing. Carinthia therefore promotes the use and marketing of regional food and products in order to strengthen the added value of local producers. It is gratifying that the first BILLA Regional Boxes are now being created in Carinthia together with the Carinthian start-up myAcker. Through fair cooperation together with regional producers, new forms of sales are being created for regional direct marketers and farmers and another mainstay to secure local supply in the region."
"I am glad that BILLA approached us and that Baldramsdorf now has a small local supplier. It is well received and there is only positive feedback from our community citizens," says Mayor of Baldramsdorf Friedrich Paulitsch.
"Especially for Flattach as a year-round tourism community, the BILLA Regional Box is an optimal addition to the existing local supply, not only for our population, but also for our guests. In addition, the location next to our tourist office and in the immediate vicinity of the parking spaces of our natural monument 'Raggaschlucht' is almost ideal. I am sure that the customer frequency will be correspondingly high. If this offer proves successful, we will certainly strive to set further accents in the area of our local supply," says Mayor of Flattach Kurt Schober, expressing his thanks.
"We are pleased that BILLA, as a large retail chain, has thought of us and that we, as a small community, now have a local supplier. Especially for older people who are not mobile, this innovation - especially in Corona times - is very valuable, especially since we have not had a local supplier for one and a half years. The feedback from the population is very positive. Especially about the cooperation with the farmers, who sell their natural products this way. I hope for good cooperation and further development in the future," says Mayor of Mörtschach Richard Unterreiner.
Mayor of Dellach im Drautal Johannes Pirker concludes: "I would like to congratulate the BILLA company and the MyAcker team on this new shop concept. I am particularly pleased that this idea came from someone from Dellach, Mr Christoph Raunig."
Of course, freshness and cleanliness are ensured in the BILLA Regional Boxes: the four containers are checked, cleaned and refilled with fresh products daily by an employee of the nearby BILLA branch in Möllbrücke. Comprehensive hygiene measures such as the provision of free disinfectant also ensure safe shopping here.
Cooperation with 39 small producers and farmers from the region
Locality is a special concern for BILLA and myAcker in the shop concept. Therefore, in addition to everyday products, the BILLA Regional Boxes also contain products from local suppliers in the neighbourhood. Small producers or farmers from the immediate vicinity, who would otherwise not be able to produce enough products for a listing in the trade, have the opportunity to make their offer available here. They bring their products into the container themselves and thus give customers a taste of regional specialities. Currently, 39 suppliers from 26 localities are supported, of which 30 producers come directly from the Drau or Möll valleys. For example, freshly brewed "coffee to go" from the coffee roasting company Ella from Villach is offered in the BILLA Regional Boxes in Flattach and Dellach.
