RAIFFEISEN BANK INTERNATIONAL AG Question: You founded SONNENTOR when you were 23 years old. What was your vision of SONNENTOR?
Gutmann: My vision is quite simple. If you grew up in the Waldviertel like I did, and that was 50 years ago, you know that jobs are rare there. In the meantime, it's not so bad, but back then there simply weren't many. And when there aren't many, you have the vision as a self-employed person to create your own job first. My basic vision was to feel needed and to be able to earn my income and live in a good environment in the long term.
Q: The SONNENTOR brand is incredibly successful. Why is that? And what goals have you set for the next few years?
G: It has developed very well, nobody believed it would. But when you take something into your own hands and implement it, then you also know when the first customers report back whether your performance is worth what you charge for it. I have seen this in direct marketing at the farmers' markets where I started. People are very interested in stories. On the one hand, the authentic stories of people who really do something, those were certainly a guarantee for success. Secondly, my authentic manner and certainly my Lederhosen, which always have a story to tell. That's what it's all about: It's not the product you sell, it's the story you tell. If the story fits, then you become successful. Success comes only then, it "succeeds" - and you must believe in it. And I knew, despite all the prophecies of doom, that I would take care of the farmers' families and the customers who mean well. For those who are interested in the organic vision.
Q: Sustainability and the organic vision: What will happen with these topics in the next ten years?
G: A lot will certainly happen, and the organic vision will become stronger. Because the visions in conventional agriculture are not goal-oriented. Politicians are overwhelmed and lack ideas. Doing more of the same is exactly the opposite of what is demanded out there - not only by the market, but also by the climate.
I know that organic farming will double in the next 25 years, which will also lead to a strong increase in sales in this sector. We work with a lot of farmers who we know what they need and who care about the future. We support them in realizing their organic vision. Every farmer who is guided by his innovative spirit has the possibility to grow special crops and not only cereals and protein crops. Here SONNENTOR is a super partner in the long run because we have built a great brand in the past.
It's about value creation combined with appreciation. We have proven that we can do that. And we have nothing else to do to bring our ideas to the next generation. I have also already broadened my management, brought in staff who are doing a very good job. I am grateful to my team because they are the guarantors for the next steps. We will make SONNENTOR suitable for grandchildren and strengthen this vision, because I know: 100 percent organic in Austria is possible.
Q: Have you ever doubted your vision?
G: Never. When I started with SONNENTOR, I saw how much pesticide and how many agricultural poisons are used. That doesn't go away. We are told again and again, also scientifically, that these sprays are diluted many times over - yes, but they are still there, they have not disappeared. They may be dissolved in water, diluted in the soil and present in the air. But they are there permanently. If someone tells me they haven't inhaled any pesticides today, I ask them how many times they have inhaled today.
Q: What is the secret of your success?
G: What our organic farmers show us every day, we have applied to our entire business. Circular economy is our recipe for success. The first line of our mission statement reads: We firmly believe in the laws of nature. That is biological, those are the laws of life per se. And anyone who does not believe this and does not want to live accordingly will also have to bear the consequences at some point.
Q: What are the most important challenges for the future?
G: Society must finally realize that it must be part of the solution. That it must participate. You can contribute something to the solution every day or you can remain part of the problem every day. Politics will be very much in demand here. You only have to take the Fridays for Future movement: These are the people who will take the steering stick in the future. It seems you always have to take to the streets first - like the generation of '68 - and put your finger in the wound so that it really hurts, and something happens. Apparently, it has to burn first.
And only when it's burning do you put out the fire. But yes, regarding our planet, it is a strong fire. If we want to, the tide can still be turned - but then we must act now.
Q: In your book "Gut geht anders. Ein einfaches Lebenskonzept zum Erfolg" you provide alternative ideas on how to live more consciously and sustainably. What was your vision behind writing a book and giving readers concepts?
G: To give the readers a tool, to show ideas. What works for me, can work elsewhere, too. I have always nurtured my gut feeling and let my heart grow. That is the most important thing to be able to survive in life.
Q: The Lederhosen is your trademark - what is the story behind it?
G: I found them in my youth on the farm in the shot chamber. Actually, I only needed a disguise for the carnival, because we children used to go dressed up from house to house during the carnival and play tricks on people. Then these leather trousers fell into my hands. They were a bit worn out, but my father said I could take them because nobody would wear them anymore.
At the ski course at the commercial academy, I stood on the mountain with the leather trousers and knew: these trousers are good. On the very first downhill run, a German approached me on the slope and wanted to buy the trousers. I told him that I wouldn't sell them because otherwise I would be standing there in long pants. Then it was clear to me that the leather ones would stand out and please. And I felt incredibly comfortable in them.
They still hold up, even though they are about 100 years old. The trousers cost nothing and were basically worth nothing. In the old days after the war, in the 1920s, the Viennese often came to the countryside to trade their things for food - in exchange for half a kilo of lard they gave the leather trousers. But if there's one thing you can see well with this story of my Lederhosen, it's that stories create values, long-term bonds and orientation.
Q: The Corona crisis has made many people rethink their diet or lifestyle and become more conscious - do you notice anything of this at SONNENTOR?
G: We have grown during this time like we haven't in a long time. Such rapid growth is also not healthy, because it has to remain plannable. You have to imagine: We sold 1,500 tons of herbs and spices last year. I can remember what I sold in my first year with SONNENTOR. If I add it all up, it was maybe a ton in total.
We are building for the future. We are currently building an eco-logistics center made of wood, which will be completed in January 2022. We are building for the future. Crises are always opportunities. We have been shown very well by our own skin and eyes what we can no longer do, what no longer works. When you realize that, there is nothing else to do but change, do things differently, do things better than the others.
Q: Your website also says that you see many things a little differently and that this is due to the "Waldviertel stubbornness". What is your idea of a successful coexistence of man and nature?
G: To see what works out and what no longer works out. To see where something can be changed for the better - always thinking and managing in cycles - so as not to break the cycle. Because otherwise the cycle will also break us - and we are already well on the way to breaking the cycle.
That means we must consider everything that is compatible with the cycle. What the soil offers, nature, the partnership. The environment, the family and our own energy. If I manage it, I'll be fine. If I overload any of the pillars, I'm not fine. All good things come in threes. That has always been my premise. I also started my business with three farmers back then. It is important to recognize what you want and need and what you don't want and to know your own limits.
Q: When you look back on your life at the age of 80, what will you be particularly proud of?
G: I will be particularly proud of having understood things that make a good life possible. If you understand that, you just have to do it. Then there are no excuses. Because if I point one finger at someone else, three point back at me. It's not the others' fault. You are the architect of your own happiness. That's what I'll be most proud of - knowing what's too much, what fits, and where there might be a hidden vein of gold that I need to pursue. Being consistent. And also, being humble and being able to say thank you.
Q: Finally: we are close to the end of 2021. What is your vision for 2022?
G: To continue as before. To consistently believe in the organic vision and everything that goes with it, to work on it and to live and act according to it. I have no other plans. We only need to continue on this path, because today we are already part of the solution and not part of the problem.
Attachments
- Original Link
- Original Document
- Permalink
Disclaimer
Raiffeisen Bank International AG published this content on 29 December 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 December 2021 08:06:01 UTC.
