Ulrich Budnik and his wife Tina Homberg-Budnik have been running a 1,050 square metre REWE store and a separate 400 square metre beverage store in Dortmund-Höchsten for 14 years. one: Mr Budnik, gourmet evenings and wine tastings in the store have a long tradition in your company. But tasting beer and spirits specialities is relatively new. When did you start?
Uli Budnik: We started in 2014 with beer tastings, initially free of charge. The response was so good that we soon had to move the tastings from the drinks market to the larger area in the supermarket.

one: How many and what types of tastings do you offer?
Uli Budnik: We are offering a total of 14 tastings this year. The spectrum of topics ranges from Belgian beers to "cool beers from Finland", "rum making" and "samurai whisky" The number of participants varies between 15 and 50.

one: Which tasting is particularly popular?
Uli Budnik: Our classic "Winter beer and kale" is in great demand. We already have 15 registrations for the next tasting in autumn. We have already sold a total of 122 tickets this year. Another highlight is the "Prosecco only for lovers" theme. It's exciting to see who comes with whom.

one: What do you charge for the tickets?
Uli Budnik: The cost ranges from 59 to 149 euros per person.

one: How do you get the topics? Aren't you slowly running out of them?
Uli Budnik: No, we are not running out of topics. We repeat the tried and tested and try out new things, such as a whisky(e)y trip through Ireland and Scotland, German sparkling wine, crémant ..

one: Who organises the tastings?
Uli Budnik: We work a lot and successfully with beer sommelier Markus Maurer from the Dortmund Beer Agency. We also bring in experts on the individual topics. As our REWE supermarket has also become too small, we have switched to our friends in the catering trade. There, we also serve food to go with the drinks every time.

one: What is the customer response and feedback like?
Uli Budnik: Interest in the tastings is still very high. The tickets are even popular as vouchers or gifts. The reactions are generally very positive and repeat purchases are also going well.

one: The depth of your beverage market's product range extends from your own country beer to international specialities. How large is the range of beverages in general? What is the demand like throughout the year? Do the exotic specialities sell all year round?
Uli Budnik: We stock a total of 450 types of beer and offer beer baskets with unusual varieties as gifts. Some speciality beers are drunk from a wine glass. My favourite is the Dortmund Borussia beer in a 0.33-litre can. We were the first craft beer store in Dortmund and quickly made a name for ourselves here

one: Are you extending the customisation of the store range to the spirits product group?
Uli Budnik : For example, we had 600 bottles of a gin exclusively produced. In 2017, we had our whisky barrel made at the Habbel distillery. The whisky was transferred to the cherry barrel in 2021 and will be bottled in 2027, after ten years. According to Habbel, the supermarket climate is great for ageing.

one: Not all REWE stores have similar facilities to yours. Do you have any tips on how to push the beverage segment with little effort and increase expertise in the product group?
Uli Budnik: Speciality drinks are an interesting niche segment that the big players can't serve in this way. You should check whether you have enough space in the shop, otherwise look for external support.