Nobody asked for ice cider. The experts laughed. Systembolaget said no. Yet today, Brännland Iscider is served in three-star restaurants around the world and at Nobel banquets. When Andreas Sundgren visited eXpression Umeå's networking lunch, he shared the lessons behind the journey.
On 20 March, cider master and entrepreneur Andreas Sundgren visited eXpression Umeå for a networking lunch on internationalisation and business development. During the lunch, he shared his journey from a failed cider project in the basement of Brännland to an export product that reaches markets far beyond Sweden. Here are his key principles.
Play the ball where it lies
Andreas wanted to make wine, but there are not many vineyards around Umeå. He tried to make French cider - but Swedish apples have the wrong characteristics for that. The solution was not to give up, but to ask himself: what do I actually have, and what can it be? The answer was ice cider. Not because that was the plan, but because that was what the raw material from Västerbotten was best at. Don't adapt reality to your idea - do the opposite.
The market's 'no' is not an answer to the future
Distributors and buyers can only tell you what has already worked. If you bring something genuinely new, they will almost always say no - not because the idea is bad, but because they lack a frame of reference. One of the distributors who said no in the most unpleasant way later went bankrupt. Listen to the market, but don't let it have the last word.
Aim high right away - and start where it matters
Once the product was ready, Brännland prioritised the most demanding buyers: the top restaurants in Stockholm. The staff in these places take products out into the world, and guests ask questions at the next restaurant they visit. A Swiss distributor got in touch after drinking ice cider blind in London. Find your focal point - where your target audience is most attentive - and start there.
The networking lunch was organised by eXpression Umeå within the framework of Kreativa Norrland, in collaboration with RISE and the Umeå region, co-funded by the European Union.
