BLISS Group celebrates the world of gastronomy with a dazzling display

HEIDELBERG. Many people share a passion for good food and drink, but only a few manage to develop sustainable concepts over the years and continually build on them creatively. In Heidelberg, the BLISS Group has succeeded in doing just that. Founded in 2013, the company has since established a broad presence in the catering sector. The name BLISS conveys a sense of bliss, and that is precisely what the founders stand for. The four professionals are united not only by their commitment to high quality, but their profiles also complement each other perfectly: Swen Schmidt and Sven Günther are qualified chefs and master chefs respectively; Swen Schmidt is also responsible for marketing and new projects, whilst Günther is in charge of finance and HR. As a hotel management specialist, Daniel Marquardt brings extensive experience in service, event management and sales, and is also responsible for wine. Jens Schmidt is the main point of contact for technical matters, facility management and construction issues. As friends, they first joined forces in 2013 to lease the historic Palais Prinz Carl in Heidelberg’s old town. After just a short start-up phase, they opened the NEO Bar & Restaurant together in 2016 in the former freight station halls, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. “The NEO is our home base, the place where it all really began and where our vision of hospitality is most clearly reflected,” says Swen Schmidt.

Seeing opportunities and not shying away from growth

Yet right from the start, it was clear to the quartet that only growth would secure their long-term future. “We’re constantly reinventing ourselves and enjoy trying out new things. Not just for the sake of expansion, but with entrepreneurial vision,” explains Schmidt. With a workforce of around 100 today, they have established themselves over the last ten years as one of the leading catering companies in the region. They offer catering on all scales, as well as mobile and flexible formats with their own food truck, ghost kitchen and pop-up concepts. The idea of showcasing their creative catering expertise led to the launch of the pop-up restaurant Stories in 2018. Now in its seventh edition, it has been making the rounds for around three months at a time at various locations – each time with a new culinary theme and a Michelin-starred chef as guest chef. “We give free rein to our creativity with Stories. And for the region, this was something completely new at the time; people were more used to seeing this sort of thing in Berlin.” The Bliss Group explicitly positions itself as urban, modern and quality-driven. “Whether with NEO or Stories – we wanted to create dining experiences for the urban community,” says Sven Günther. “There’s actually too little of that in Heidelberg and the surrounding area. The city has a high concentration of restaurants – but little innovation.” The financial and logistical effort involved in running the pop-up series each year is enormous. For each edition, a design studio is commissioned to develop the interior concept, furniture is designed and built specifically for the chosen venue, and the website and marketing are managed. “We invest a great deal in this and have only really been profitable since 2024. But it strengthens our brand and our image, and generates a huge amount of word-of-mouth among our guests,” explains Schmidt.

Historic settings with fresh ideas

The Palais Prinz Carl, which is leased from the City of Heidelberg, serves as BLISS’s wedding and event venue. When they were offered the Schlosshotel in Neckarbischofsheim in 2024, they seized the opportunity, renovated and modernised the small 30-room hotel, and repositioned it as a wedding and conference venue. “Hosting weddings, corporate and family celebrations is in our DNA,” says Schmidt. Building on this ethos, the team recently took on the Alte Schlachthof in Wiesloch, which had stood empty for a year. The historic building, covering around 1,200 square metres, is currently being modernised and is set to set new standards as a versatile event venue under the name ‘l’ab’. According to Günther, the potential is huge: “There’s little else like it in the vicinity, and even if running a restaurant there isn’t viable, this old abattoir is ideal for our purposes.” The first event is already scheduled for the end of
June. Despite all these projects, catering remains the group’s core business. Every day, BLISS supplies several childcare centres in Neckarbischofsheim as well as a nursery
in Heidelberg, as well as two Heidelberg-based companies, with high-quality lunch menus. Added to this are numerous event catering jobs in the region and, on request, nationwide too. Furthermore, the catering group has been awarded the contract by the town of Schwetzingen and, from June, will be one of two companies taking over the catering at the Schlossrestaurant.

Looking ahead to the next decade

Nevertheless, the shortage of skilled workers and the economic pressure in the industry have not left BLISS unscathed: “We are not immune to such developments either, but we respond appropriately to the challenges and do not stand still. That is rare for a business of our size,” says Günther. For instance, a mushroom farm is planned on the site of the Old Slaughterhouse to break into a new market, alongside a B2B meat trading business that draws on the company’s many years of experience and excellent suppliers. And due to the shortage of skilled workers, a ‘Feelgood Manager’ was appointed three years ago to oversee the onboarding of staff. “We’re also still able to pay high wages and offer various part-time arrangements,” says Schmidt. For the big anniversary celebration at NEO, the restaurant is being refurbished and new furniture is being purchased. At the same time, the anniversary also means positioning the business for the next ten years: “We’re overhauling our operations, streamlining processes and training our staff. At the same time, we’re taking vertical integration a step further and want to bring as much as possible in-house,” says Schmidt. The young ventures are set to grow into independent business units and continue the success story.