The world of social networking is a kind of digital word of mouth that provides the ability to “see” reality far removed from our physical reach. After seeing the profile of the Acherer Brunico Bakery on Facebook, though, we became intrigued and decided to go to South Tyrol to meet the young Andreas Acherer in person. And we were not wrong; last September he successfully passed the exam to enter the prestigious Relais Desserts International association.
‘Überzeugung’ also known as conviction, or determination, describes perfectly the philosophy of Andreas Acherer, who is marking the success of the venture he started five years ago in the center of Brunico. Überzeugung is the determination of a child in wanting to realize his dream of becoming a pastry chef. Überzeugung, the conviction of a young pastry chef who, after his studies, packed a suitcase and travelled through Austria to Germany, to Switzerland, working and gaining experience. Überzeugung, the security of a budding entrepreneur, that challenges the conventions of his country and his region, South Tyrol, the old home of his grandfather, to open a unique and one-of-a-kind bakery with his partner Barbara.
Unique because Acherer is not only synonymous with pastry, but also with flowers; two trades that seemingly have nothing in common, but they are united (just like the logo of the bakery, which is an A, but also the layout of the room and the union of the two activities) by Andrea’s passion for pastry and Barbara’s passion for flowers, “at first it was difficult to accept this unusual combination, but now our company, even now during the crisis, is growing steadily. In fact, the two activities can be considered separate, because customers hardly ever come in looking to buy both a dessert and a bouquet of flowers- they prefer to buy the products separately- but as it happens, the packaging requires floral decorations. However, the biggest challenge has been to rid ourselves of the role of “Jeweller” and, even today, many can be seen “window shopping”, but are reluctant to enter, because the shop and the arrangement of the products instill a little fear in them.”
The shop
The shop is a long room; on the right the long display cabinet that introduces you first to the praline, then the cakes, followed by single portion miniatures and finally the brioche, strudels and cakes. Down the long corridor, a small lounge area where you can stop for tasting. On the left side there is a partition wall, which some impulse-buy products are mounted – always made in-store –such as jams, biscuits and chocolate bars: beyond the wall, Barbera’s kingdom, the flowers.
Production and sale
The Acherer bakery is open every day of the year (except December 25th & 26th) without a break for lunch; the production must therefore be well organized to allow both direct customers and third parties to have fresh products always available.