Holderhof beverages bring diversity to farm shops

When Philipp Hotz’s parents opened the Hof-Märcht on the Hotzenhof in Baar almost 30 years ago, they were still the only ones far and wide with this direct marketing offer in the area. The farm grows mainly fruit, berries and grapes, which are sold fresh or processed into specialities such as spirits, jam, wine, juices or syrup. As an experienced direct marketer, farmer Philipp Hotz now knows that it takes a certain range of products to be successful. But he remains true to his principles: «Regional focus is at the centre of the Hof-Märcht for sure». His own products always come first in the shop. This includes, above all, the fine brandies – such as the Zug Kirsch, typical of the region – which have been distilled on site from the company’s own fruit for five Hotz generations. He also buys fresh vegetables and eggs for the farm shop from local farmers, which he does not produce himself.

Popular Holderhof beverages

Two years ago, Philipp Hotz opened a second, much larger farm shop with an integrated restaurant in the newly built Landi building in Baar ZG. In this shop, in addition to his own products, he also sells dairy products, meat products, honey and vegetables from smaller farms in the region. Regional focus is the basic idea here, too. But he has reached his limits with the beverage assortment, because customers want a greater variety, especially in the restaurant. But with the various iced teas, lemonades and spritzers from Holderhof, he found the right solution. In addition to the trendy ginger shots, there are four varieties of iced tea, four varieties of lemonade and five different Holderhof brand spritzers on offer. The beverages fit well into his shop concept, says Philipp Hotz: «Despite considerable growth, Holderhof is still a manageable size, relies on Swiss origin for its products and has a direct agricultural background.» The innovative beverages come across well with the customers, also because they can keep up with the prices of the usual competing products. His personal favourite is the organic spritzer with blackcurrants. The biggest sales, however, are for the alpine herb iced teas. If this runs out, the Hof-Märcht, as a larger customer, benefits from quick additional deliveries.

Holderhof beverages fit well in farm shops

In addition to the Hof-Märcht, other farm shops of various sizes throughout Switzerland are also among Holderhof’s customers. «For orders of 300 francs or more, delivery is free,» explains field staff member Markus Deringer. This is certainly worth a try for farming families, he thinks. The natural Holderhof beverages fit well into the assortment of regional direct marketing companies. In addition, Markus Deringer points out that they can also sell their beverages with their own labels. Holderhof offers this possibility for the production of private labels, for example for the Alpine Herb Ice Tea, starting at a size of 1600 bottles. Even direct marketing professional Philipp Hotz has already thought about this possibility, especially for the popular spritzers, because he would not have the technical possibilities to produce them himself. But for the time being, he continues to sell only his own creations under the “Hof Märcht” brand, such as the red apple juice or the quince-apple juice. These also go quite well with the Holderhof beverages.