Flury bakery
The traditional bakery relies on the latest Schaerer technology
In 1933, women from the village of Koppigen (Canton Berne) got together and converted a farmhouse into a bakery. About 20 years later, in 1956, their joint enterprise developed into the family business Bäckerei Flury, with one of the first tea rooms in Switzerland – a popular meeting place for ladies from the Cantons of Berne and Solothurn. In the 1970s, the business took over a second location, after which further branches were quickly established step by step, and the small village bakery bloomed into a joint stock company. In the late 1990s, the first Schaerer coffee machine was used in Koppigen. Today, they can be found in almost all the branches – Koppigen Aspi and the village itself, Ladedorf, Langendorf, Luterbach, Subingen and Utzendorf: A total of nine Coffee Soul 10 machines make sure the best coffees can be enjoyed at Flury.
Swiss values and tradition
In 2000, the Morgenthaler family acquired a stake, and has now been running the Flury bakery independently since 2013. The former farmhouse is now a listed building. It has been lovingly renovated and houses the TIMIS restaurant, but the Flury concept still forms an important link between the modern company and its beginnings: each location has a café in which guests are served as in the days of the tea rooms. With Tim Morgenthaler, Head of Sales and Administration at Flury AG, the first generation has been joined by the second at the helm for two years now. He talked to us about the concept as well as Flury's corporate values, and what role Schaerer coffee machines play in this.
For Tim Morgenthaler, the partnership with Schaerer chimes in perfectly with his own corporate values. He deliberately focuses on the regional factor when selecting suppliers – and with its headquarters in Zuchwil, Schaerer is located in the immediate vicinity of Flury AG's market area. Schaerer's flexibility and willingness to innovate are also relevant. "We may only be a small customer, but we have the opportunity to contribute our ideas at any time and drive them forward together with Schaerer," explains Tim Morgenthaler. In addition to an optimum price-performance ratio, Morgenthaler is pleased with the consistent coffee quality, for which he always receives positive feedback from customers. The figures reveal how popular the "made by Schaerer" coffee specialities are: In 2022, a total of around 100,000 cups of Café crème were served at the then six locations.
Down-to-earth meets state-of-the-art technology
Service instead of self-service: the flair of a tea room still plays a role in the cafés at the Flury branches. Meals, snacks, sweet treats and beverages are served to guests seated at their tables; indeed, customers still value a high-quality offering with a down-to-earth touch. Thus, cold coffee specialities are prepared in the classic way, and vegan milk alternatives are hardly an issue – yet. "It goes without saying that we keep an eye on the numerous coffee trends and regularly launch various test batches," says Morgenthaler. "However, we always find that our guests appreciate what is tried and true." There is currently an increased demand for lactose-free milk. The Flury employees foam this milk freshly as needed – as a result of which they are particularly enthusiastic about the reliable technology offered by Schaerer coffee machines as well as their simplicity in operation. "New team members get to grips with the machines very quickly, and the quality of the milk foam is excellent even if the person preparing it doesn't have a lot of practice in manual foaming," Morgenthaler points out. As the next step, he is planning to digitize his coffee business based on the Schaerer Coffee Link service platform.
Sustainability means a regional approach
The Morgenthaler family attaches great deal of importance to sustainability. Only small companies from the region are considered as suppliers. The cheese, for example, comes from the village dairy Koppigen AG, which receives its milk from the surrounding farmers, fruit and vegetables for healthy snacks also cover only a short distance before they are processed by the Flury team. The Morgenthalers also maintain a partnership founded on trust with Oetterli Kaffee, the small but fine coffee roasting company in the neighbourhood. "Sustainability is a big issue for us, but labels don't interest us," says Tim Morgenthaler, clarifying his approach. "We prefer to work with local producers instead of companies from further afield, no matter what certificates they can put in front of us, because it doesn't get more sustainable or environmentally friendly than that." The cooperation with their near neighbour Schaerer fits perfectly into this awareness.
Participation in the ProCare market test
One example of cooperation in the area of innovations is the Schaerer ProCare cleaning system: For up to three months, the compact add-on module supplies cleaning agents for up to 100 cycles and cleans the coffee and milk system. The employees at Flury are thrilled, because they have already been enjoying the benefits of the fully automatic coffee machine cleaning system for six months. As a test partner, Flury keeps in close touch with Schaerer Service, and directly passes on its own experiences. Tim Morgenthaler thinks that Schaerer ProCare works excellently, so he only had a few minor optimization ideas to contribute.
