Beverage Manager - 06 / 11
Christian Machers – Indispensable
How, Christian Machers, the head of a medium sized company named Gastro-Cool quickly made a worldwide name for himself and challenged the „big shot“ competition in providing cooling solutions.
“We are serious in our work, appreciate quality greatly and offer conventional advertising refrigerators, too. But we want our producrs to be different. This can veen with a look at our innovative developments “ Christian Machers, Managing Director at Gastro-Cool, Germany
They are part of the interior design of bars, supermarkets and corner stores branbd name promoting cooling equip,emt that cool beverages like beer, lemonade, water, as well as milk and juices, to the right temperature and also present them in a very positive light. Cooling and advertising at the point of sale (PoS) are now playing an equally important role. There is a lot of creativity behind the development, design and placing of these models. Christian Machers, Managing Direktor at Gastro-Cool GmbH of Germany, has been concentrating on this area for the past eight years. He has asserted himself against major competitors with his creativity. His company is now delivering to beverage industry customers all over the world. A new branch in Romania has been serving as the toehold in the East European market since last year.
Christian Machers knows exactly what needs to be done to develop and manage a brand: He possesses comprohensive expertise in marketing and an extraordinary know-how of the branch. He served as brand manager for international players like Berentzen and Reemtsma before Gastro-Cool wa sfoundes, An in-depth market analysis prior to the company’s founding lead him to draw the conclusion: “There was and still is a significant market potential for innovative cooling solutions in the international beverage market. Advertising refrigerators have long since developed into an important marketing instrument in B2C and B2B buisness.”
The Company’s Foundation
Creativity, environmental friendliness and cost-effectiveness – these are the hree keys to success Christian Machers and his team relied on to make a name for themselves and start competing againgst the “big” players in a very short period of time. “our approach was and still is to approach the market with new and creative cooling solutions. We integrally designed our range of services accordingly. The entire value chain of consultation, development, production and distribution directs our work. Furthermore, we offer our costumers the individual consultation needed to successfully market their product at the PoD.”
Christian Machers has steered Gastro-Cool on a succesful course with this approach since the company was founded. And their equipment is delivered to renowed companies: Granini, the leading fruit juice producer in Germany, actively engages Gastro-Cool all over Europe. Anheuser-Busch Inbev relies in the advertising and cooling solutions from the German city of Kaarst. Gastro-Cool also produved specialbrand-marked cooling equipment for the Carlsberg brewery on the occasion of the 2010 World Cup that was then widely used by Tesco, the largest supermerket chain in Britain. Yakult (india) and Danone (Egypt) are also among the company’s customers.
“The Market Needs Fresh Ideas”
While many competitors on the market don#t seem to have any opportunity to develop innovative cooling solutions as part of their daily business, which is, in part, due to their size and sales volume, Machers sees this as his company’s core strength and as a key for the success of the company, “We rely on green, environmentally friendly cooling solutions in our development process. The use of fluorinated hydrocarbon-free cooling agents for equipment in retail and restaurants/bars is second nature to us. We also use modern communications technology, like Bluetooth, which is integrated in the cooling unit and allows the brand and consumer to interact with each other. We also develop individual cooling equipment that beverage makers provide for thei retailers or to restaurants/bars free of charge in their B2B business.”
Focusing on Green
Machers is successively encouraging a focus on being green within his company. Saving natural resources and money are two goals he tries to combine with his new innovations. The so called bag-in box (BiB) refrigerator that works like a standard tap is an example of this. The principle behind it: Instead of being poured out of bottles, high quality wines are tapped from 19 l hoses. The ecological balance sheet is much better than when using bottles. “Since the wine is filled in hoses, the foil hose is the only packaging waste that must be disposed of, which results in up to 85% less waste than with bottles. The low weight of the hoses gives us a reduction of approximately 40% compared to an equal volume filled in bottled; transport costs and expenditures also fall”, explains the head man at Gastro-Cool. And since you don’t have to open and close the refrigerator every time you prepare a serving of wine, you don’t let the cold air out every time you pour a glass of wine, which also saves energy”. The bag-in-box concept is finding more and more acceptance in the European market and also making a good impression on restaurant / bar operators. But Mr. Machers believes it is still far from reaching its full potential. Oberservations made in British café barsrecently lead to a new model series, for example. “Even perishable drinks like milk can be packed in BiB with excellent results these days. BIB dispensers can be found in almost every cafe bar in Britain. Within a short period of time we were able to develop an innovative pieces of equipment to meet this specific-need and than can be offered all over the world”.
New Containers Require New Solutions
Being a pioneer and being able to set new tones as a smal company is the goal of the ambitious maverick Christian Machers. His latest victory came in the form of the DosenDispenser (can dispenser) refrigerator that conveys the image of lifestylebeverages with its futuristic design and interior transport mechanism that makes it easier for the service personnel in restaurants and bars to operate. “The interest in this patent protected device is enormous. After initially offering it exclusively to one of the leading energy drink producers, we are now marking it avaible to a broader market”, says Mr. Machers happily in speaking about the success of this innovation. The long and extensive developmet work paid off in the long term. “These succesful ventures are also our source of motivation to branch out in new directions in our developmental work.”
Using Technology
Anyone who wants to be successful has to be willing to take risks, This ist the reason why Machers favors unorthodox projects. “We are serious in our works, appreciate quality greatly and offer conventional advertising refrigerators, too. But we wanr our products to be different. This can be seen with a look at our innovative developments.” This is one reason why he is particularly proud of the combination of modern communications technology with marketing strategies that increase sales at the PoS. An example of this is seen in the development of the first refrigerator with integrated Bluetooth technology. The refrigerator can communicate with the end customer via free mobile wireless technology. “This lets beverage producers have interactive contact with the end customer at the PoS2. SMS, MMS and even smal games can be sent to the consumer’s cellular telephone free of charge. “This form of communication can be ideally used and integrated in marketing campaigns,” says Machers.
New Cointainers for New Beverages
New technologies, new forms of marketing and new products. The beverage market is chjanging all over the world. A change in drinking habits among consumers in the direction of health-conscious nutrition can also be seen. These dynamics require the greatest possible level of flexibility and diverse thinking by service providers., Christian Machers is sure of one thing: “Gastro-Cool’s challenge is providing new, ecological solutions for the international market in a temely manner. But that is also what we demand for ourselbes. We happily accept this challenge.” (bmg)
