We are known nowadays nationwide as a specialist brewery operating on the Swiss market with great success. The reasons for this success are down to the quality of our beers, a systematic niche policy (special beers catering to every taste), the fact that the name "Appenzell" is well-known and that the customer is still very much the focal point. Our aim is to have satisfied customers and maintain personal contact. Thanks to a credible business policy, we have managed to increase trust in the "APPENZELL BEER" brand and the brewery´s reputation over the last 120 years. Beer output has increased from 13,800 hl in 1994 to over 100,000 hl a year at present.
Brauerei Locher AG has gained more and more market share in the ever-diminishing beer market since 1994. The brewery´s output multiplied by a factor of 5.5, whilst beer production in Switzerland fell by more than 25% during the same period.
- Domestic output of Switzerland compared to the beer output of Brauerei Locher AG. (domestic output = taxable beer output of all Swiss breweries before deduction of flat in-house consumption rate in acc. with instructions issued by OZD (Swiss Directorate General of Customs), Bern (taxable beer output = output excl. exports, excl. non-alcoholic beer).
Plant and equipment
The strong increase in demand for APPENZELL BEER, constant modernisation of machines and installations as well as the creation of humane, skilled jobs have made it necessary to make considerable investments in recent years. Almost CHF 20 million will have been invested in infrastructure and new buildings by the end of 2007.
Environmental protection - chance of success for a medium-sized brewery
Brauerei Locher AG was the first brewery in Switzerland to produce a beer that could bear the "Knospe Label" ("Bio Suisse" quality award): the "Appenzeller Naturperle". This beer contains both barley malt and hops that come exclusively from controlled ecological farms. Pest control is carried out without any chemical or synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Whilst the returns are slightly lower, the quality is pure and free of harmful substances. Ecological crop growing recommended by all environmental associations means the active protection of species, water, nature and climate. Not only hops and grain are produced in accordance with the "Bio Knospe" guidelines. Specific guidelines also hold for the brewery.
In close cooperation with the Dähler family farm, we managed to find a solution for recycling by-products (brewing dregs and waste, free run and beer yeast) that are obtained when producing wheat beer. This project is sustainable in many areas: the farmer supplies the brewery with grain to make beer - we give him back the by-products so they can be put to good use (feeding animals with brewing dregs and waste and filling drinking troughs with free run) on the farm. In mountain regions, the alternatives to growing raw materials for beer production are scarce. Thanks to this cooperation, raw materials are produced on the spot and unnecessary transport/journeys can therefore be avoided.
