Member share offering · Fall 2026

Brothwheel

Neighborhood soup in glass jars that come back.

A co-op owned by the cooks who make the soup and the neighbors who eat it.

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The problem

Good soup takes hours. Its takeout tub lasts one meal.

52

single-use tubs a year, plus their lids, from one household that buys soup once a week.

  • Time

    A proper stock simmers for four hours. Weeknights rarely have four hours.

  • Waste

    Takeout soup comes in a plastic tub that gets used once.

  • Idle kitchens

    Community kitchens sit empty most weekday afternoons.

How it works

One jar goes round and round.

  1. Cook. Member cooks make three soups in a shared kitchen.

  2. Fill. Liter jars, filled hot, labeled by batch and date.

  3. Collect. At our counter, a corner shop shelf, or by cargo bike.

  4. Eat. Best within four days, kept chilled.

  5. Return. Any pickup point takes the jar back and refunds $3.

  6. Wash. A commercial dishwasher sanitizes every jar and lid.

A jar and lid cost us $2.40. The $3 deposit covers any jar that never comes back.

What members get

Three soups a week, one always vegan.

A sample week

  • Tue Oct 6 · Batch 041A1 L

    Chicken, lemon & orzo

    Contains wheat · Best by Sat Oct 10

  • Tue Oct 6 · Batch 041B1 L

    Smoky white bean & kale

    Vegetarian · Contains milk · Best by Sat Oct 10

  • Tue Oct 6 · Batch 041C1 L

    Roast squash, ginger & coconut

    Vegan · Best by Sat Oct 10

Soup
$12 for a one-liter jar
Jar deposit
$3, refunded at any pickup point
Member share
$100, paid once. One member, one vote.
Members also get
First pick of each batch and a share of the surplus.

The numbers

Every liter pays its way.

Where each $12 goes at our year-one target of 500 liters a week.

Fixed costs
$1,230 a week for kitchen hours, a part-time coordinator and insurance.
Break-even
333 liters a week.
Surplus
$620 a week at target. Half goes back to members as a dividend, half to the jar and kitchen reserve.
Where $12 goes per liter at 500 liters a week
CostPer liter
Ingredients$3.40
Cook wages$3.10
Fixed costs$2.46
Shelf partner share$1.20
Jar washing and losses$0.60
Surplus$1.24

Year one

Open small. Break even by month six.

Target liters sold a week

  1. Months 1 and 2

    Set up

    Lease Tuesday and Friday kitchen hours. Install the dishwasher. Buy 1,500 jars.

  2. Month 3

    Open

    Open the counter with 150 founding members.

    Target: 200 liters a week

  3. Months 4 to 6

    Add shelves

    Add four corner shop shelves for pickup and jar returns.

    Target: 340 liters a week, past break-even at 333

  4. Months 7 to 12

    Deliver

    Start Friday cargo bike delivery. Grow to 400 members.

    Target: 500 liters a week

The ask

Help us start the wheel.

$60,000

opens the kitchen and carries us past break-even.

Founding member shares, 150 × $100
$15,000
Neighbor loans, 3% over five years
$20,000
Community lender loan
$25,000

Where the $60,000 goes

  • Kitchen fit-out and tilting kettle$18,000
  • Working capital, 13 weeks$15,900
  • Commercial dishwasher$9,000
  • Fridges$7,000
  • Cargo bike and trailer$6,500
  • 1,500 jars and lids$3,600

Buy a share, lend to the kitchen, or sign up to cook.