OUR STORY

Three students in their twenties decided to create their brand of alcohol and conquer the Lausanne market. Throwback to a rather crazy idea, which was born late at night, after an eventful party.

It all started after a few drinks, an evening just before the summer of 2015 in a bar in Lausanne. Two HEC students – Boris, who also works in audiovisual, and Philip, who has created his own brand of beer, make an observation: the spirits market is not very diversified. Many brands exist, but only six strong alcohols are consumed regularly: Tequila, Vodka, Whiskey, Rum, Gin and Jäggermeister. If for ordinary mortals, this panel may seem sufficient, it is, on the other hand, a little minimalist for the inveterate partygoers – of which I am one – who have been scouring the bars and clubs of Lausanne for years.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?), night lyrics rarely see the light of day. The two friends will wait a few months before realizing that their idea is far from being stupid. It remains to choose the product; as Boris is half Serbian, the two students will decide to import slivovitz rakija – traditional alcohol from the Balkans. Moreover, impossible to find in Swiss bars. Bingo.

To maximize their chances of success, the duo includes in the project one of their friends, Lucas, who is studying psychology at the University of Lausanne and works as an Event Promoter at the Mad Club (Lausanne) as well as in the purchase and sale of streetwear.

Once we agreed on the idea, Boris called his cousin Nikola, who lived and studied in Belgrade at the time. Of course, he loved the idea and joined us on this journey immediately! Since Boris and Nikola’s origin is in Western Serbia, in Arilje to be exact, it was not too hard to find a proper slivovitz rakija producer that fulfilled all the requirements we had.

Strengthened by its union, the new company, baptized Balkia, ordered its first bottles in March 2016.