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The key moment was when trying an ice cream sundae for 1000 euros for a TV show.
It was garnished with gold leaf, fine chocolate and expensive almonds.
The model and the luxury sundae, that's what the TV editorial team thought.
In 2009 Nuru won the casting show “Germany's Next Top Model” at the age of 19, and has since worked as a sought-after model and TV personality.
But that moment, when she looked at the ice cream sundae and felt feelings of excess, decadence and shame, was the trigger to take a break from this business.
She wanted to part with everything that suddenly seemed wrong and superficial to her.
Act responsibly
She came back with a new idea.
In 2016 Sara, who was born to Ethiopian parents in Munich, founded the company "nuruCoffee" together with her sister Sali Nuru.
She wanted to be more than a model who only pays attention to fair consumption in private: "We have the sincere intention to act responsibly in all areas, from the environment to society."
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She spoke about this claim, about founding a company and the question of how to actually start a sustainable business at the “Better Future Conference” as part of a live podcast recording of “The Real Word”: The Personality Podcast from WELT wants Address and discuss issues from society and pop culture in an honest manner.
“Every day there is a new challenge.
I come from a completely different area, we had to and must acquire everything.
But we know why we are doing it, ”said Sara Nuru, describing life as the founder.
Your fame as a model would increase the pressure to succeed that you would already be under.
But she tries to break free of it.
Why coffee
With “nuruCoffee” she sells organically grown, fair and sustainably produced coffee from smallholder cooperatives in Ethiopia and pays the farmers living wages.
Why coffee
This is a product that most people would consume every day and without thinking too much.
“I haven't questioned where our coffee actually comes from for a long time.
But then through the trips to Ethiopia I realized what it actually means when we speak of 'handpicked coffee' in such a transfigured way ”.
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The reality on site looks much less romantic: “Women work for hours in the blazing sun to prepare thousands of coffee beans by hand. "That is an unimaginable effort" that is out of proportion to what they earned with it. For the sisters Sara and Sali it was therefore clear: "We have to create awareness for this."
Her organization “nuruWomen” is affiliated with the company.
The sisters also grant microloans to Ethiopian women to help them implement all kinds of business ideas.
Because it is women who often bear the brunt of poverty and who are at the bottom of the value chain.
"If you don't work in the coffee trade, it is difficult as a woman in Ethiopia to earn any money at all." From the income that you generate with "nuruCoffee", "we give something back, organize support on site."
Microcredit as a start-up aid
However, the two do not give gifts, they grant microloans with the aim of giving women start-up support for self-employment: It works better than pure gifts because the concept of lending strengthens self-esteem.
More than 200 women have been helped with such a loan so far.
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Does it need support from investors - or does it not want it at all?
Because sustainably producing companies are often faced with a problem: margins and profits that are already lower are minimized by supporting social projects, as “nuruCoffee” does.
This makes you less attractive to investors who ultimately want to make a profit - even if, of course, it has long been trendy nowadays who can advertise themselves with properties like “fair” and “sustainable”. “For us, the social is subordinate to the economic,” says Nuru. Not everyone understands that. “We made a conscious decision against investors and the opportunities that come with them. But we don't have to allow ourselves to be influenced from outside and decide for ourselves what kind of company we want to be. "