Docteur Gab's: the success of an ENAC alumni
Reto Engler, co-funder of Docteur Gab's beers. © Thierry Parel
In 2001, long before today’s microbrewery craze, Reto Engler (SIE’09) and his co-founders created Docteur Gab’s. After starting out in their parents’ kitchen, the beverage has gone on to become a staple on tables throughout French-speaking Switzerland and is now the banner brand for craft beer in the Vaud region. Here is a look back at how the adventure started.
T he offbeat logo – the stemmed beer glass-shaped, winking face of a doctor sporting a mirror reflector – is now well-known throughout French-speaking Switzerland. From EPFL’s student bar, Satellite, to the most popular bars in Lausanne, Geneva and Neuchâtel, Docteur Gab’s beers and their funny, authentic style have become omnipresent in the region. This astounding rise among the region’s brews was built on the friendship between Reto Engler, an EPFL graduate who earned his degree in Environmental Sciences and Engineering (SIE) in 2009, and his two co-founders, David Paraskevopoulos and Gabriel Hasler.
GARAGE BREWERY
In 2001, the three secondary-school friends shared not only their love for beer, but also a strong penchant for entrepreneurship and experimentation. “From developing the range, production, and marketing strategy, to bottling and delivery, etc., we were doing absolutely everything ourselves,” Reto Engler reminisces. The first beers were brewed in the kitchen of one of the boys’ parents, who were bewildered but supportive about the undertaking. Following the model of successful Silicon Valley startups, the adventure moved into the garage in 2002. Reto Engler’s parents’ garage was where the first vats were kept, and where the trio toiled evenings and weekends. Then the first customers began pouring in. To meet demand, production increased, and the premises, now too small, grew. The brewers moved again in 2004, this time setting up in Epalinges. “This move brought new obligations. We now had a rent to pay and debt taken out to buy brewing equipment, meaning real obligations in terms of business performance.” Unusual obligations for young adults just starting university.
PROMISING NICHE
Reto Engler took advantage of his time at EPFL to have his classmates taste his creations. Docteur Gab’s became a must at class dinners and moved into the campus bar, Satellite. “It was one of the first bars to sell our beers. It’s still available on draught there today, and we regularly hold tastings.” When they graduated in 2010, Reto Engler and the other Docteur Gab’s co-founders gave themselves a year to test the viability of their business. They continued to develop the range of authentic, unique beers. It turned out to be the right strategic decision in a market currently dominated by giants, but in which microbreweries are experiencing the strongest growth. The three co-founders took a coaching programme and secured their first financing from private investors, which allowed them to structure the company and come up with a medium-term business plan. Showing just how much potential their entrepreneurial venture had, in 2012 Docteur Gab’s won the PERL Jury’s Award, which is generally handed to technology startups.
LOCAL, RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION
Roles formed naturally among the team members. Reto Engler applies his education in engineering as head of production. But more surprisingly, he also handles the company’s marketing and communication. “From the outset I worked a lot on the logo, slogans, brand image and the positive values that we wanted to convey. I like this part of the business, showing that we have a strong identity over and beyond our products.” The brand’s identity is built on authenticity, and that is reflected in its production methods. By prioritising local products, for example bottles from the St Prex glass manufacturer, Docteur Gab’s demonstrates that it is firmly grounded in its roots. “We also try to be as responsible as possible in our production processes. We send our production waste to a local farmer who uses it for methanation. He produces the electricity that we then use at the factory.” Moreover, SIE students from EPFL come every year to visit the factory as part of their industrial ecology courses.
The company currently generates annual revenue of nearly CHF 10 million, and its strategy focuses on diversification. Its first step was to develop a lager, Swaf. Lighter than the brand’s trademark brews, Swaf is made to compete with market giants, the likes of Heineken and Carlsberg. The next step is to move into new products, such as cider, also made in the local spirit using apples from the region. The company has also begun selling its products in supermarkets and is using its strong foothold in French-speaking Switzerland as a springboard to tackle the country’s German-speaking market. But, above all, Docteur Gab’s remains faithful to its identity and initial philosophy of nurturing its close relationship with the brand’s fans. “The first Docteur Gab’s bar has recently opened on Rue de Bourg in Lausanne,” Reto Engler says. That way, people can have a good time and explore this incredible success story of French-speaking Switzerland.