Gutsch - the Swiss Organic Oat Drink
In November 2021, Gutsch Cooperative launched Switzerland's first organic oat drink specifically developed for coffee beverages. We co-founded the cooperative with other coffee companies. This sets a sign for Swiss organic agriculture, more conscious consumption, and meaningful collaboration with other businesses.
"Water from Schlieren instead of Sweden" was long the internal Gutsch motto, until it circulated more and more and eventually served as a conversation starter with interested parties. An oat drink consists of approximately 90% water, with the rest being processed oats, oil, salt, and in the case of Gutsch, red algae. Soyana in Schlieren near Zurich fills the drink for Gutsch, and also sources the water from there.
Oat drinks, which are highly valued especially in the specialty coffee industry, come in large numbers from England, Sweden, or Denmark. The oat drink market is moving very quickly right now and becoming increasingly differentiated, with new products entering the market every year.
In Switzerland, Soyana's products are very widespread; we also served them for many years in Café Frühling and at Kaffeemacher Café at SBB Basel. Emmi recently launched Beleaf, an oat drink with Swiss oats (non-organic), and according to industry experts, further drinks are expected to come to market.
So it was hardly surprising that we received an early rejection from Gutsch from a major organic retailer who was not interested in resale. Fortunately – because this significantly shaped Gutsch's approach. We had to seek channels other than resale to wholesalers.
Oat drink from Switzerland – still extremely rare
Gutsch is not the first organic oat drink with Swiss oats – the drink from Lebenshof Aurelio quickly gained many fans, as did the oat drink from Biohof Hübeli. These projects were the first in Switzerland to use organic oats. More products should come quickly, and above all, the market is now becoming interesting for larger bottlers as well.
With Gutsch, we had a clear focus: we wanted to reach gastronomy – we wanted to go where we ourselves saw a need. Where we had contacts, where we knew what the requirements were for an oat drink in the coffee industry. So we took the appropriate alternative into our own hands. And Gutsch had to be organic – that was always clear.
Photo: Boris Müller, from the Tages-Anzeiger Instagram channel
Focus on gastronomy
With Gutsch, we established it in our bylaws that we would not go into classical retail. The first inquiry from a supermarket came just six days after launch – so there is demand for a Swiss organic oat drink.
In order to actually be able to distribute the large quantities of a private label production, we served the gastronomy channels from the start. This way, with three initial test runs of 50,000 liters each, we were able to supply various cafés and restaurants and gather direct, frank feedback. A week after the launch in November 2021, we were already able to supply Gutsch to over 30 establishments. All businesses that serve Gutsch are members of the cooperative – that is a requirement.
The Gutsch Cooperative as foundation
We chose the cooperative model because we see Gutsch as a community project. Equal rights, equal voting power, lots of grassroots democracy. Membership in the cooperative is obtained with a share certificate of CHF 500 (companies) or CHF 250 (supporters). This model of share certificate distribution served us as startup capital. We tried not to set up Gutsch like a typical food startup. This eliminated the model of external investment. Equally, we wanted the people who carry Gutsch to be at the helm – and those are the cooperative members.
Soyana – the private label bottler for Gutsch
Within a year, Gutsch was market-ready. From the first conversations with Soyana, through recipe development, design, to setting up the supply chain. Leading the way were Philipp Schallberger (Kaffeemacher:innen) and Mathias Bühler from Adrianos Kaffeebrennerei in Bern.
Soyana is a pioneer for plant-based drinks in Switzerland. Founder Walter Dänzer was a friend of the Gutsch project from the beginning and is now himself a cooperative member.
Soyana CEO Walter Dänzer in conversation with Sascha Britsko from Tages-Anzeiger
The article from Tages-Anzeiger from November 5 is available at this link: Gutsch Reportage
The design – bachelor thesis by Sara Dietrich
With Gutsch, we wanted to go different routes, including with design. Sara was just before completing her bachelor's degree at Design & Art University in Lucerne. We got in contact with Sara and she took on Gutsch. Sara designed the entire brand language, typography, corporate design, website, and: the "actual" packaging.
But why does Gutsch simply look white now?
As so often, it's for technical reasons. The minimum order quantity for custom packaging is several hundred thousand. We didn't want to make this investment and looked for alternatives. The white packaging is now the blank that the manufacturer provides us. Feedback from production was mixed – it looked "quite special" – and we knew it was a fit.
Sara Dietrich's entire work can be viewed here .
Will we fill Gutsch in Sara's packages someday?
The white package is a makeshift solution that we now really like. It's simply different. Sara's packaging is the goal – the more you all drink Gutsch, the closer we get to filling Gutsch in Sara's Tetrapaks in the future, inspired by Swiss industrial design from the 1970s.
Gutsch – where to buy? And how much does Gutsch cost?
- The Gutsch Cooperative sells to its cooperative members
- Cooperative members serve Gutsch in their establishments and/or can resell Gutsch to private customers.
- List of sales points
Prices for end consumers are between CHF 3.70 to 3.95/liter. Each business decides on the sales price within this range based on its own costs.
Gutsch's sales price to cooperative members varies between CHF 2.40/liter to CHF 2.80/liter, depending on the quantity ordered.
The Gutsch Cooperative
More benefit for all – that's what we decided at Gutsch . The more businesses participate in Gutsch, the better the conditions become for everyone. That is the goal of a cooperative. On our website we write:
Together we go further. The more people participate in the Gutsch Cooperative, the more attractively we can shape the conditions for everyone. The cooperative has the signal effect of a movement. The more cafés come together in Switzerland for the same cause, the more incentives are created for organic oat production. And we all benefit from that.
- Co-CEO Mathias Bühler
and Philipp Schallberger
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Further links:
Tages-Anzeiger Reportage: https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/jetzt-kommt-die-schweizer-biohafermilch-890018745704
Article by Benjamin Hohlmann: https://www.benjamin-hohlmann.org/blog/gutsch-hafermilch/
