Vollpension makes a difference!

One slice of cake at a time — fighting old age poverty and isolation.

Vollpension makes a difference!

One slice of cake at a time — fighting old age poverty and isolation.

Baking as a political statement

A senior woman baking cakes on her own doesn’t yet create social change. But when an older person at risk of loneliness steps out of their flat through the act of baking, becomes embedded in a social structure, builds connections with younger colleagues, has a meaningful purpose, and earns a little extra on top of an inadequate pension – baking becomes a political statement.

 

Active participation instead of loneliness. Self-empowerment instead of old age poverty. Intergenerational dialogue instead of a growing divide.

Our Impact Report 2025 (German)

Our 2025 Impact

Every slice of cake, every coffee, every breakfast helps us achieve our social mission. Here's an overview of what we accomplished together in 2025.
KPIs Vollpension 2025
All our 2025 key figures at a glance
  • 67 jobs for seniors (2025), 12 of them newly created
  • 400 to 500 euros additional monthly income per senior (2025)
  • 4 years average length of employment (as of 2025)
  • Around 190,000 guests at our locations (2025)
  • 82 baking classes with around 900 baking students (2025)
  • 53 Buchtelmobil missions with around 300 Buchteln each (2025)
  • 7,000 participants at Vollpension events (2025)
  • 3,000,000 minutes of structured intergenerational dialogue (2025)
  • 13 corporate partners (2025), including SPAR, ANKER, Alpro and Erste Stiftung
  • 5,300,000 people reached online (2025), more than 10 million contacts per year in total
  • 8 out of 10 seniors say their work makes them feel less alone (2025 interviews, 26 respondents)
  • 88 percent of guests report a changed perspective on ageing (2025 survey, 660 participants)
Eröffnung Vollpension Schleifmühlgasse 2015

Our story: how we're making the world a little bit better, one slice at a time

We started in 2012 as a temporary pop-up at Vienna Design Week. Today, our grandmas and grandpas are baking Buchteln from Vienna to Copenhagen. Discover how a small project became a well-known city living room and an international heartfelt mission for greater intergenerational togetherness.

What does it mean to live on a minimum pension?

Not just numbers, but lives: Marianne travels solo to Scotland, Susanne takes private dance lessons, Ingrid runs 100 km a week, Resi goes to museums - because their job gives them the freedom that their pension alone cannot.

with the kind support of

Erste Stiftung Logo

Staying curious pays off

Language trips at 70+, English with guests from around the world: Marianne shows that learning has no age limit. Her job gives her the financial freedom for courses, small extras, and above all: the feeling of staying in the game.

"Other people get a horse - I dance"

Susanne has always loved dancing but never found the right partner. Today she takes solo lessons, dresses up, and glides through her living room. Being able to afford and dare to do this has a lot to do with her job: extra income, young colleagues, more self-confidence.

100 km a week - fully in the thick of life

Running keeps you fit, the job keeps you sharp. Ingrid powers through - on the running track and in the team. At Vollpension she's not on the sidelines, she's right in the middle of it: needed, active, among people.

Living culture on €1,087

Resi budgets her pension mindfully and refuses to give up art. With her culture pass and extra income, she treats herself to exhibitions, guided tours, and a coffee afterwards. Without penny-pinching, with dignity.

Our mission

As a social business, we create socially creative innovations that work sustainably against old age poverty and isolation, and foster greater connection between generations. Concretely:
We create jobs for seniors
We create spaces for intergenerational exchange and bring seniors out of isolation
We give seniors a voice
Different Positions of seniors working at Vollpension

Meaningful jobs for our grandmas and grandpas

Our seniors are the absolute heart of Vollpension - as storytellers, advisors, and the soul of everything we do. They have long since moved beyond "just" being expert bakers and warm hosts in our cafés. Whether as senior influencers on camera, passionate baking teachers, in catering, as gardeners, or as a "repair grandpa" - a diverse range of meaningful roles has emerged over time. This way, we create not only important supplementary income, but genuine intergenerational dialogue and social integration that proves every day: age is no obstacle to an active, fulfilling life at the heart of society.
Extra income for seniors by baking in the coffeehouse

Let's bake this: our partnerships

Business and social impact go hand in hand - we prove this every day with our carefully chosen partner companies. We maintain not mere sponsorships, but real relationships at eye level, to secure social jobs and connect generations.

Thanks to our partners

Unsere Partner
Grayling
Together with Grayling, we make sure our stories land where they can make a difference. The agency has been by our side for years in all things PR, turning causes like old-age poverty, intergenerational dialogue and breaking stereotypes into stories that reach both the media and people's hearts. From strategic counsel to joint campaign work: Grayling gives our grandmas and grandpas a stage not just in the café, but a strong voice in the public eye.
Futurelink
Futurelink opens doors that would otherwise stay closed. At formats like the CEO Circle or the Female Leader Circle, we meet decision-makers – at eye level, in real conversations rather than pitches. These encounters lead to contacts, collaborations and a growing understanding that intergenerational work isn't a niche topic, but a genuine business matter. It's exactly this meeting of equals that turns contacts into true partnerships.
Crowd investors
We owe our crowd investors far more than capital: with them, Vollpension is a project that keeps growing. Their financial support makes our expansion possible – and their trust gives us the backing to stay true to our values along the way. Hundreds of people have chosen not to put their money just anywhere, but into an idea that brings generations together and makes old-age poverty visible. This trust is the foundation of our growth – new locations, new formats, new jobs for grandmas and grandpas. From the bottom of our hearts: thank you for believing in Vollpension with your investment.

Our vision for tomorrow

Vollpension is more than a café – it is a living network of trust and appreciation. We want to scale our social mission through social franchising, open new locations, and bring our expertise in generational management consulting directly into the business world. Our goal is to carry the “Vollpension recipe” of cake, Viennese charm, and genuine togetherness beyond the borders of Vienna and out into the world.

Expanding business areas
New locations
Scaling our mission
Generational management