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Drink Zzinga and support bees and biodiversity

Published on
July 7, 2020

In this series we speak to start-ups, companies, and inhabitants of the campus about their activities and why they choose to work on Wageningen Campus.

Five years ago, Fabian Lindner tasted a drink in Lithuania called mead (mede in Dutch). An alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey and water also called honeywine. Honeywine is the oldest alcoholic drink in the world. Fabian was enthusiastic and got an idea. “I was thinking of making a delicious drink and at the same time, do something for the bees and biodiversity.” Five years later he produces and sells Zzinga, which is recommended on the website as a ‘perfectly refreshing for a summer evening’.

How did you start Zzinga, and what is your core business?

Back in my home country Italy, I tried different recipes to make this drink myself, tested it on friends and family, did research and got a lot of positive reactions. I wanted to become an entrepreneur, and I was looking for a university where I could realize this. I finished my BSc Agriculture in Bologna, and I was looking for a suitable MSc study.
Wageningen is a prestigious university where I could choose for both agriculture and entrepreneurship. In 2016, I started the master’s Marketing Management and Consumer Studies and did the master track Entrepreneurship. I wanted to develop this idea into a business plan and to follow some entrepreneurship courses including a start-up week of StartHub. One year ago, I graduated, and now I’m CEO of my own start-up.


"Mission: honey for the people and flowers for the bees!"


Focus on bees and biodiversity

Honey for the people is all about creating exciting honey drinks: In 2019 we launched our own honey cider Zzinga. In august 2020 we will launch a non-alcohic version, the so-called Zzinga 0.0, a delicious craft soda with an exciting honey taste.

Flowers for the bees is all about supporting bees and biodiversity. We do that by using organic honey and by using 10% of our profit to support local bee projects. For instance, we support a project in Lochem called Zonnebloemlint, where farmers are encouraged to grow sunflower stripes around their farmland This makes sure that bees and other insects have enough food and shelter to thirve and boost the local biodiversity. Next to that we want to become an opinion leader in sustainability with focuse on bees and biodiversity. 

How many people are working in your team now?

At this moment, our team consists of two co-founders; Elias Fischer and myself, two interns and two people working part-time. The coming month, we hope to expand our team. With this team, we do marketing, branding, sales and are looking for sustainable projects to support. The production of Zzinga is outsourced. At this moment the bottles of Zzinga are produced in Limburg.

To get this business started, WUR was crucial. At the business week at StartHub we followed several courses, we got help with writing a business plan, we received a soft loan of € 8000,- and we were supported by experts and mentors to get our business started.

Fabian won with Zzinga a Chairman’s Award in the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards in 2019 for his perseverance and strength in overcoming personal and professional obstacles. He turned it into a valuable lesson to improve the company. Watch the video below to find out what obstacles he had to overcome.

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What troubles did you face during  the corona outbreak, and how did you deal with them?

Before corona, our business plan was to enter the Dutch catering sector, starting in the cities of Utrecht and Amsterdam. We invested a lot of effort in this plan. In March, all the bars and restaurants were closed suddenly. In this respect corona was demotivating. We were depressed for a few days, but then we realised that we had to come up with new ideas. We brainstormed and decided to open an online shop. It is impressive to see what happened and how fast it happened. In Wageningen, the reactions to our online shop were very positive, and we got a lot of orders. So, in 2019 we focused on the catering sector, and in 2020 we were forced to start the online shop and to do more retail. Meanwhile, you can buy ZZinga at the local shops in Wageningen (SPAR, Woudenberg, Gall&Gall, Bijenhuis, Café Loburg, Luucx Goods for good, Bakker van Voorthuizen) but also the branches of Stach and Marqt in Amsterdam.

On the one hand, corona was a problem; it harmed our business, and we had compensate losses in expected sales, on the other hand, corona made us more innovative entrepreneurs. Thanks to corona we recently launched a new product; the Bee Conscious Box, which contains a six-pack of Zzinga and a sustainable flower pot with seeds to grow your own bee-friendly flowers and herbs on your balcony or in your garden. You can use the herbs in your kitchen. At the same time, you improve the conditions for bees and contribute to biodiversity.

What are the benefits of being on Wageningen Campus?

We gratefully use the experts of WUR on campus, and we can easily make contact with business partners at the different science groups here. We also join in with WUR initiatives like the Start-up Box. This is a promotional gift from WUR to their partners filled with products from all the Wageningen start-ups.

A few weeks ago, we also contributed to the ‘Borrel Box’. Some departments in Atlas had an online meet & greet, and the 50 participants received a box filled with start-up products. This is free publicity for us: when 50 people taste Zzinga and spread the word.

We don’t use facilities on campus to make our product. A year ago, I was looking for a lab or a place to do experiments. I didn’t succeed then. But recently I was interviewed by WUR about my future interest to use a lab or kitchen space on campus. So WUR is currently assessing the need among various potential users.

Zzinga

Are there things you miss on campus?

StartHub helps get you through the initial stage of your business. Their experts are a real help to start up. But after this phase, you must grow and expand your business. That is not the scope of StartHub. Of course, there is also StartLife, but we don’t fit in their portfolio because they support starting companies with a technological focus. We are more consumer-focussed. What I also miss in Wageningen? (laughing) Maybe a train station.

How do you see the future of your company?

That is a good question. That’s what I think about a lot. We will probably move from Atlas to Plus Ultra II on Wageningen Campus soon. We could stay on campus with Zzinga for one or two more years. We could also move our business to a big city like Utrecht or Amsterdam. That depends on the growth of our business.

Our goal is to be the first responsible drink choice in The Netherlands, in Europe and around the world. People who choose our drink, choose organic honey and are supporting bees and biodiversity.

Seeing the sustainable part of the product, WUR is a great fit. Seeing the drink part of our product, we’d better move to a big city to pick up trends in horeca and drinks. That is where things happen first. So, this is still a dilemma. In the near future, say in three years, we strive for sales in the EU and in 5 to 10 years we hope that we succeeded in establishing Zzinga as an EU brand.