Sønderborg provides excellent conditions for entrepreneurs to develop and grow. For Destilleriet Als, the business opportunities have resulted in a doubling of revenue every year since they embarked on their adventure back in 2018.
“It has gone better and faster than we had dared to hope for”, says Krestian Muusmann, director and co-owner of Destilleriet Als and the restaurant Karikatur. He is in no doubt that Sønderborg is the ideal place for entrepreneurs.
“Thanks to the city’s university, which always has its finger on the pulse, and the BMC Foundation, Linak, OJ and others, Sønderborg boasts an enormous will and a well of resources to develop the area. We will see successful startups really flourish in the area, and I am looking forward to that”, says the director, who started his own entrepreneurial adventure, Destilleriet Als, while writing his civil engineering dissertation at SDU Sønderborg. He is in no doubt that Sønderborg is the ideal place to make business dreams come true, not only because Sønderborg already has a strong and significant industry, history and charm, but also because the area is an internationally oriented municipality with a well-developed and well-functioning infrastructure. “The reality is that too few Als residents think big”, says Krestian Muusmann.
“In the Sønderborg area, we benefit from facilities and a history hard to find elsewhere, but we also have space. There is room for exciting new projects, and many of them will greatly benefit from the business opportunities that lie to the south.”
Destilleriet has won several awards
Being an entrepreneur requires self-awareness and a readiness to change. For Destilleriet Als, this meant spending 2018 getting to know the processes relevant to the company and then getting to know the business in 2019. In 2020–2021, they faced challenges and challenged themselves to rethink the business. Destilleriet has garnered great national and international recognition during its journey. However, if you ask Krestian Muusmann, the greatest honour was receiving the Sønderborg Entrepreneur Award in 2018 and the Galoche Award in 2021. Destilleriet was awarded the latter partly because of their foresight and partly because they make a difference to the Sønderborg area. Krestian Muusmann believes that being a distiller is very much about the heart, which is why the concept is well suited to large family-owned companies driving development.
“I am particularly proud of our Galoche award and our entrepreneur award. Our business is a production, but a large part of it belongs to the experience economy. It must be understood in the sense that our business is based on an industry that people find interesting to visit. It’s an optional extra, although it might give you a sore head the next day! We have to be something that Southern Jutland is proud of, which is what makes receiving such an award extra special.”
Since the first financial year, the distillery’s gross profit has gone from DKK 161,000 in 2019 to DKK 2,100,000 in 2021. Destilleriet Als is looking forward to further growth with a mature whiskey concept, and predicts some particularly exciting years ahead.
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