From self-sufficient to a successful brewery

“Many restaurants sell our beer because the beer bottle is very attractive.”

Daniel Frei, the founder of the craft brewery – Oerlikon, is a brewer as one could imagine, wearing a beard, a beret, and a striped shirt. The brewery actually came into being by pure coincidence: “My wife gave me a book about self-sufficiency. The book contained a recipe for a nettle beer. I thought I’d like to try it out right away,” Daniel says. The beer was so well received by his friends that they motivated him to found his own brewery. “I had no idea about brewing beer, but without further ado I bought a brewing kettle and got started,” Daniel recalls.

Since then, brewing beer became his great passion. He wanted to launch an extraordinary beer bottle on the market and turned to his graphic designer friend who created a detailed concept for him. “The circle symbolizes the initial letter of Oerlikon, the two lines mean the inflection on Oerlikon’s O and  at the same time the number 11 which means Zurich’s 11th district, in which Oerlikon is located,” explains Daniel.

“I asked myself whether I wanted to venture something new and have the beer bottle printed,” says Daniel. Always in my field of vision was the financial expenditure: “I didn’t know where my journey would take me. The question always hovered in my head as to whether the beer bottle should look good and appealing or whether my common sense would win. In the end, Daniel decided to print his beer bottles with an appealing design. “I found the ecological aspect very interesting as I had the beer bottles washed.”

“Many people tell me that my beer bottles look very classy and they really appreciate that,” Daniel explains. His beer is offered in many restaurants in the region. “Many restaurateurs have my beer in their assortment because the beer bottle looks so beautiful and stands out,” he says proudly.

Finally, Daniel explains that the packaging of a product is very important for a brand: “A beautiful package gives a better impression and encourages you to discover something new”.