My neighbour the pet shop

For Elena Risch, a member of the ground handling team at Zürich Airport, and Mike Gubser, a DJ with event bookings across the country, the coronavirus pandemic signalled the end of their previous careers. Both enthusiastic cat owners, the pair decided spontaneously to realise a long-cherished idea: to sell bones and raw food products from their own newly created Barf Connoisseur brand by mail order.

To date the range comprises seven menus for dogs and three for cats. Beef, lamb, chicken, horse and fish varieties are offered in the form of 250- and 500-gramme sausages. The ingredients come from a local Swiss butcher, hence the products also bear the coveted seal “100% Swiss-Made”. Supplementing the mail order range are products from CD-Vet, Line for pet, Three Dog Night and Swiss deer antler powder as well as Swiss vegetables and fruit. In a leased storage facility – now directly under the store – are 17 large chest freezers. “In the last year alone, we have shifted around 22 tonnes of bones and raw food products,” says Mike Gubser with pride.

The bones and raw food concept met with such a level of approval in a short time that expansion was required much faster than anticipated. Elena Risch and Mike Gubser had spent years visiting Alpha-Pet as customers; they had also supplied the store with their products and lived just a few hundred metres away. “We realised early on that an international clientele existed and that the shop had immense potential,” says Elena Risch, giving the inside story. The proficiency in English and Japanese acquired in her previous career has been beneficial in the day-to-day business transactions.

Established over 16 years ago, the shop has been located for the last four years in a spot with a high footfall – the oldest open-air shopping mall in Switzerland – directly adjacent to a number of food retailers and with a large car park. When the two entrepreneurs learned at the start of 2022 that the owner wanted to sell, it didn’t take long to make a decision. “In just four months, we had everything sorted and re-opened on 1 July last year,” says Mike Gubser.

Entering the pet supplies sector as absolute newcomers, they have changed very little in the format of the 125 m² shop. Above all, the concept of regional “corner shop” has been retained, with small pack sizes, treats and accessories selling well and customers…