Konsum-Produktionsbetriebe was the name used by production facilities belonging to the Konsum consumer cooperative retail chain in East Germany (GDR). The Konsum cooperative was founded in December 1945, and by 1948 around 300 independent consumer cooperatives existed across the Soviet Occupation Zone.[1] The chain included over 150 production businesses, 28 of which were directly subordinate to the Association of German Consumer Cooperatives (VDK), producing a large proportion of the goods sold in Konsum outlets.[1]
Design and History
Konsum-Produktionsbetriebe Gera was one such production operation, located in Gera, Thuringia.[2] The Gera directory of East German beverage producers lists Konsum-Produktionsbetriebe Gera alongside local breweries and mineral water companies, indicating its role in beverage production in the region.[3] A beer label catalog documents Konsum-branded beer labels from the Gera area, with two series attributed to printers Th. Furche and Th. Könnicke.[4]
The visual identity used by Konsum-Produktionsbetriebe was the association logo of the Konsum cooperative itself. In 1959, graphic designer Karl Thewalt created the Konsum association logo, which depicted an industrial chimney and a curved hand sickle forming a capital “K”.[1] The logo was affixed to the facades or roofs of Konsum sales outlets, often as illuminated advertising visible from afar.[1] A German retail trade publication confirms that from 1962 onward, the Konsum operated under this Thewalt-designed logo, with the “K” formed from an industrial chimney and a bent hand sickle.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The logo’s two elements carried direct symbolic meaning tied to the cooperative’s identity. The industrial chimney represented industry and production, while the curved hand sickle referenced agriculture and the cooperative’s roots in the consumer cooperative movement.[1] Together, the chimney and sickle formed the capital letter “K” for Konsum, combining the cooperative’s name with visual references to both industrial and agricultural production.[1]
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