Excitement and Fun with Innovative Sausage Creations
Interview with Andreas Breu, Managing Director of Breu GmbH and Wurstbaron GmbH
A mini salami in the shape of a heart as a savory snack? Or a 3.5 m long sausage, rolled up on a cable drum? 'Sometimes we're a bit wild,' admits Andreas Breu, referring to his product range – and that is precisely a fundamental basis for sustained success. He spoke with Wirtschaftsforum about the creation process behind his sausage and snack creations, the market response, and his plans for the future.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Breu, with Breu GmbH and the online distribution company Wurstbaron, you want to offer something in the market "More than Food" - what exactly is the objective behind this?
Andreas Breu: We clearly move with our product portfolio away from the mass market, so to speak, in the niche of the niche: We want not only to satisfy our customers' hunger but also to entertain them a bit - like the Kinder Surprise Egg known for its promise of excitement, fun, and games; only that in this case, we rely not on confectionery but on our grown expertise in meat and sausage processing. One of our most popular products, for example, is our little salami heart, which weighs only 1.7 g, is as small as a thumbnail, and thus serves perfectly as a fun snack for in-between.
Wirtschaftsforum: You have significantly expanded your product portfolio in the meantime.
Andreas Breu: In addition to the salami heart, there is now also salami in the shape of a pretzel and as a star, as well as many other variations – we even use these to fill our own Advent calendar. We are pleased if we can not only convince our customers with taste but also put a smile on their faces, just like with our cigar-shaped sausage or our salami lollipop, which is equipped with a small wooden stick to perfectly mimic the appearance of a lollipop. Our sausage drum – a 3.50 m long coiled sausage modeled after a cable drum – has even appeared in several TV crime dramas without us having been specifically asked for by the production. This shows that we regularly hit the mark with our products.
Wirtschaftsforum: Where does this wealth of ideas come from?
Andreas Breu: Often from everyday life, for example when I am on vacation with friends and we all have a bit of fun together. I don’t sit in a corner to brainstorm and then try forcibly to develop a new product, that obviously doesn’t work. But if, for example, I drink a glass of wine at a hotel bar in the evening and get something salty served with it, I start to think. In the end, a product like our Salami heart or our salty cracker in heart shape comes up, which may be a bit more ingenious than the familiar salt stick. Meanwhile, with our diverse assortment, we also go beyond the mere meat and sausage segment and now offer cheese products and with our GoaßMaß in cans, also beverages.
Wirtschaftsforum: Having ideas is one thing – but implementing them in production is likely linked with entirely different challenges.
Andreas Breu: Moreover, there are no machines on the market that we could use to easily manufacture our new products! In the initial phase of product development, we actually still rely heavily on proven manual labor, but as soon as it is clear that we want to pursue a certain idea extensively, we must build our own devices. Although we are based in a very rural region, we can count on a strong network of engineers and planners as well as competent craftsmen in metal processing who actively support us in the development and installation of the appropriate equipment. If we had to use the services of a special machine builder for every new concept, our business model would certainly not be sustainable; after all, maybe two or three out of ten new ideas work out, so some prototypes end up in the trash. The effort is still worth it – because thanks to our strong niche position, our products are very rarely imitated by other market participants.
Wirtschaftsforum: How open is the market to your new developments?
Andreas Breu: I admit: In the beginning, we were sometimes laughed at, and it was said: "A sausage drum is quite funny, but nobody buys that." After initial sales tests, we were then able to prove the opposite, so that we are now frequently listed in food retail. Also in this context, we want to continue to develop in the coming years and can also imagine distribution through drugstores: After all, our products are long-lasting without refrigeration and a perfect addition to the existing snack assortment.