Designing a Sustainable Craft Cider Brand with a Mission
The Challenge
Project: Guillaume
Location: Sion, Switzerland
Industries: Food
Date: Since 2020
Link: guillaumecider.ch
When we wander the produce section of grocery stores, glistening apples, perfectly unripe bananas, and leafy stems of kale often greet us. We often overlook how grocery stores delicately pick and choose their products and discard those that don’t meet the store requirements. However, most unattractive or unsellable apples can still be consumed and provide the same nutritional benefits to buyers. Therefore, varieties of apples are threatened with extinction by the mass retailing industry while a growing demand for craft cider persists.
The Solution
To reshape the way we think about our food consumption, we decided to carefully select and combine ancient varieties of apples to create a delicious premium craft cider. We developed a storyline that shares Guillaume’s origin and how it showcases its use of blemished apples to craft a delicious cider and serve the growing demand for craft cider in the region.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, which amounts to about 1.3 billion tons per year (FAO). This brought us to question how we could upcycle apples to create a product that contributes to the local economy, is good for the planet, and is sustainable as a product.
To change the way we think about our food intake, we wanted to upcycle blemished apples and establish a sustainable cider brand. We created a plot that shares the roots of Guillaume and how it illustrates the use of blemished apple varieties to make a delicious cider.
We wanted to create a beautiful and tasty product for customers while working in solidarity with producer cooperatives to guarantee farmers a fair price for their work. Guillaume is committed to protecting our environment and working towards a fair and circular economy.
The Story of Sweet Simplon
Guillaume’s first artisanal cider, slightly sweet, natural, and refreshing, is made from different apples, carefully selected from the sunny orchards of Valais. The apple varieties include Goldrush, Jonagold, and Canada. The produce is then transported to be locally pressed, fermented, and bottled. The cider uses pure apple juice, with no added sugars, colourings, or artificial flavours.
Sweet Simplon was born from a collaboration with our friend Hugo. We have refined the recipe to offer fellow cider connoisseurs a bubbly, sweet, and fruity premium cider through various rounds of research and development with different apple varieties in the past two years in the cellar.
By documenting the cider-making process, we could share the story and have full transparency with consumers about the ingredients used to create the apple cider. We emphasized that we mostly use local organic apple varieties and process it on-site to reduce transportation and ensure that it is as fresh as possible. We shared our experiences with the sider to resonate or predict the feelings that felt when enjoying the chilled cider on a relaxing summer day or year-round.
Sustainability
Sustainability was a huge priority for us, so we shared some ways to make the process more efficient and environmentally friendly; the entire process is powered 100% by solar energy. Our ciders are produced on a shared production line to optimize the use of resources. We worked to minimize transportation and offset our carbon emissions and the majority of our apples came from organic agriculture. We prioritize 1% of our revenue towards environmental protection organizations through the “1% for the Planet” initiative. Lastly, the apple pulp resulting from the pressing is recycled just 500m from our press is transformed into compost and biogas.
We hope that our tiny actions can inspire other companies to reconsider their economic models and alter their processes to contribute to a more sustainable food industry.