Regions, volunteering, diversity: how Germany's product ambassadors network

Eileen Henning and Felicia Rinck are product ambassadors from Bad Frankenhausen. At the network meeting at the adventure farm, they don't stay among themselves for long. Ida Oehlmann, the heath queen from Meißendorf, asks them if they would like to swap buttons and autograph cards. “The buttons are a sign of who you've met. They also help to draw attention to the other regions,” explains Nadine Hauschildt. The Crocus Blossom Queen from Husum has over a hundred buttons pinned to her sash, including one from the German Life Saving Association, the Technical Relief Service, and her volleyball club. “My heart's desire is to raise awareness of volunteer work as such as a product ambassador. We all love our regions and put a lot of time and energy into this work. The Grüne Woche is ideal for exchanging ideas and networking, and for asking the other product ambassadors how they are positioned and organized,” says Nadine Hauschildt.

Passion and trust

Since 2025, the Forum for Modern Agriculture has been hosting an exclusive networking event for agricultural product ambassadors as part of Grüne Woche. More than 60 of them gathered on Sunday in front of the stage at the ErlebnisBauernhof (adventure farm) in Hall 3.2. “You can sense that they all promote their region and their products with passion and conviction. That creates trust,” said Joachim Rukwied, President of the German Farmers' Association.

Eileen Henning is the Lilac Queen of Bad Frankenhausen. She also holds a degree in finance from the State Office of Finance in Erfurt. As part of her honorary duties, she visits retirement homes and children's parties and provides information about her region, such as the 600-year-old steeple of the Oberkirche church. The spire is 4.60 meters out of plumb, making it more crooked than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Starting in the spring, visitors will be able to step out of the tower about two meters via a skywalk and look down through a glass plate.

From the flower bed to the spotlight

Flower fairy Hannes Schrader is an ambassador for German horticulture and floristry. “I have the privilege of representing the whole of Germany and am completely fascinated and impressed by the Grüne Woche. I clock up 15,000 steps on my pedometer every day and particularly enjoyed the opening of the flower hall,” he says. As a child, Hannes Schrader, who some may know as a bridal outfitter from the TV show “Tüll und Tränen” (Tulle and Tears), used to pick flowers from his grandmother's garden. Later, he trained as a florist, then as a tailor, and today he runs a flower shop and a bridal fashion store near Nienburg. “Craftsmanship is important and exciting,” he says, adding with a wink: “We can't all sit in cafés with our smartphones drinking soy chai lattes. There also have to be people who make things.”

Working with nature – and with criticism

One of these people is Brandenburg's harvest ambassador Christian Braune. The young farmer from Nuthetal has been an AgrarScout for eight years and provides insights into the opportunities and challenges his work brings: "It's the best job in the world. We work with nature, in nature, and we produce food, which is what we need to live. It's an incredibly satisfying feeling," he says.

Eight years ago, when he started as an AgrarScout, he received communication training. “I still talk about it today,” he says. Among other things, this training helped him deal better with hostility. As he talks about it, the stage at the ErlebnisBauernhof farm becomes quiet. Many of the product ambassadors nod. They know the feeling. “Sometimes you ask yourself: Why are people like that? We are a trade that works in the great outdoors, so things don't always go as planned. I try to explain and educate, and I'm on the right track,” says Christan Braune.