June 01, 2017
Papa Türk: the garlic killer drink
Papa Türk is the still rather young soft drink brand of the two entrepreneurs Jan Plewinski and Roman Will.
The idea for the young businessmen’s anti-garlic lemonade was born in the winter of 2011 during an evening at the pub. While the two natives of Bremen loved doner kebab, the smell of garlic interfered with partying. It was also clear to them that they did not want boring 9 to 5 jobs after graduating. So what would be more obvious than creating an anti-garlic beverage?!
After many of their own concoctions, Plewinski and Willi obtained the help of a university specialising in food technology in the summer of 2012. By April of 2013 the two doner kebab lovers already had their first 400 cases of their kissing beverage “Papa Türk”. Their ambitious goal was to sell them within 2 weeks...
In the meantime, Papa Türk is available in three flavours and the two founders are no longer personally delivering their lemonade to their former target group of doner shops and kiosks.
We asked Jan Plewinski how they accomplished this.
Jan, in 2013 your big goal was to sell 400 cases of your “garlic killer drink”.
Did you make it?
We reached the goal!
We read that you had a bet going in 2013... Do you both have Papa Türk logo tattoos now? :-)
The bet was for a certain period in 2013 and we narrowly missed it. Therefore only one of us has a Papa tattoo so far (by choice).
And how did things go for you after that? After all, you were already ordering promotional refrigerators from us back in 2014...
Many doner kebab restaurants in northern Germany carry our Papa in the meantime, and we continue to work towards “Papa world domination” ;-)
Why was it so important for you to appear in the market with promotional refrigerators at the outset, and where do you continue to see the benefits today?
Customer loyalty and a corresponding presentation of our Papa beverages were very important to us early on.
Back then you sold Papa Türk only in glass bottles. Why are you also offering your “kissing beverage” in cans today? What are the advantages and disadvantages of glass versus cans for you?
Different customers and points of sale prefer different containers, which is why we chose to offer our garlic killer drink in cans and bottles so early on.
Your “Höhle der Löwen” visit was broadcast on 20 September 2016. What has changed for you since then? What was it like to be suddenly known and in demand throughout the D/A/CH region?
Taking part in the show gave us a huge boost in terms of publicity, coverage and sales figures.
Has anything changed in your business process because of the investor Ralf Dümmel? If so, what?
Mr. Dümmel’s company made a very positive contribution to all processes of our Papa enterprise. We are extremely happy with the partnership.
How did you prepare for the run after your “Höhle der Löwen” appearance? You were after all present in specialist shops, food retailing and the online trade soon after the broadcast.
Papa Türk has also been available in Austria since 28 April 2017. How are your sales developing there?
We did initial sales tests in Austria early on, but have only had a really strong partner pushing our Papa beverages there since the end of 2016. Everything is developing very positively in Germany and Austria right now.
What are your future plans for Papa Türk, Papa Shisa and Papa Cola? Will there be a 4th flavour or Mama Türk soon?
We are going to launch a 4th variety and Papa Türk/Papa Shisha “double apple” with one of Germany’s major retailers at the end of June!
What tips can you offer for new beverage start-ups? Is there anything you had to learn the hard way?
Perfect your product, have a strong unique selling proposition or lots of money for advertising and marketing ;) and stay on the ball.
And one question that is sure to interest all readers: Is a visit to “Die Höhle der Löwen” worthwhile? What was the TV show for you: a curse or a blessing?
It was a great blessing for us, although this appearance does bear a lot of risk since the pitch and the negotiations are in fact filmed live so that the pressure is tremendous.
Thank you for the interview and taking the time for us.