From the shared kitchen to the hippest bars
How two students stir up the Zurich beverage market
Patrick Diener and Florian Bachofner cram for exams during the day and work in the brewery at night.
Published: 02/20/2022 at 18:23
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Updated: 02/21/2022 at 10:46 am
Your formula puts the Zurich student body in euphoria – at least those who know the scene. They’ve been drinking the Turboruss sweet cider-vodka-spice mixture for quite a while, but Patrick Diener (21) and Florian “Flo” Bachofner (24) have made the drinkable pleasure as a ready-to-drink a hit.
Their “Igor Turboruss” hits the taste buds of many and has established itself sip by sip as a substitute for mulled wine. The two young entrepreneurs produce everything by hand, although it is sometimes difficult to reconcile working full-time with studying. Diener is about to complete his biology bachelor’s degree, Bachofner will finish his psychology degree in the summer.
The founding idea came to them quite spontaneously in the shared kitchen – that was at the end of 2020: Diener didn’t know what to give his family for Christmas. Homemade turbo soot was the answer. Almost a year later, he and Bachofner stood in the Oerlikon brewery every day and worked on the optimal recipe and the right filling technology. There was support from Bachofner’s mother, who contributed 2,000 francs of start-up capital for the small company.
Step by step
The son remembers the first lessons in alcohol production with a smile: “We quickly had to learn that in the food industry the learning-by-doing approach sometimes doesn’t work at all, such as bottles frothing over, moderate burns during bottling and power outages some challenges due to short circuits in the tank.”
And then they had to convince the Zurich scene of the benefits of the hot drink. After the first attempt to move from bar to bar with a thermos flask turned out to be not very promising, the two students went about it more professionally. Igor Turboruss is now sold at eight locations in the canton of Zurich and is also distributed via its own online shop.
Preparations for the warm season are now underway. SonntagsBlick visits Bachofner and Diener in the brewery. The two put their heads together and discuss how the summer drink should taste and appear in 2022. At least they agree on the design of the label. The two seem happy and to celebrate the day pour each other a freshly tapped beer.
What the creation should be called, Bachofner and Diener don’t even want to reveal to the SonntagsBlick, that remains top-secret for the time being. Well then cheers!
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