Me (tauer)
marketing and branding

Exgüsi

Good morning from Zurich, Switzerland, where we got snow! Not too much, 5 cm maybe, but still: Winter is here in its glory and with its hassles. I guess I won’t take the bike to the factory today as usually, the roads are cleared from snow and ice but the right side of the road where the bikes are supposed to move are the area where all the snow and ice goes….

So… I am a Swiss brand, working in Zurich. Yesterday, I published this picture on facebook, saying “Exgüsi” which translates into “sorry” but without really apologizing deeply. A typical Swiss German word. I did so together with some text in Swiss German that won’t translate by Goggle translation software. Ha!

Switzerland is small, and although Google has a headquarter here in Zurich, they won’t invest into translating Swiss German.

I am running a small venture here in Zurich, but the amazing thing is (and it is quite typical for small Swiss brands): I am selling about 95% abroad. That’s why I published the picture, figuring: ” Hey! It is time to tell my fellow Swiss perfume lovers that I am out there, too”. I always refer to the prophet in his land: Overheard or not listened to up to the moment when outsiders praise him/her. Having said that: Switzerland is one of the major players when it comes to fragrances, scents and aroma.

I’d bet: a good portion of the food you find in your fridge has some aroma molecules coming from Givaudan. And I’d bet that a good portion of your perfume collection (not tauer) was created in the Swiss laboratories of IFF etc.

Here comes the irony: Many perfumes these days are marketed as “French” (or any other country that you wish), they are designed in Switzerland, sometimes made in China or at least filled and packed into Chinese boxes and bottles, with some of the production still being in France to get the label “made in France”.

Switzerland is small and thus we Swiss have a tradition of looking outside of our country for opportunities and news. For instance, the Swiss TV news brings on average more news about what is happening in the world compared to the German TV news stations. Maybe it is simply because there’s not enough happening in Switzerland, too.

Which -these days- is a blessing!

And now: wish me luck that my fellow Swiss perfume lovers will look for scented goodies inside Switzerland.