Duration of the project: Start for the meat production: 1986, Start for the wool production: 1991.
The project is planed on a continuing basis.
The project Villgrater Nature Products was instigated by Josef Schett, the driving force of the project. All products and networks concentrate on the regional resource of the Villgratental: sheep. For the processing and marketing of sheep products, the Josef Schett Limited Partnership was founded. The product innovation – woolin, insulation material made from sheep wool – is produced and marketed by the Woolin Ltd. in cooperation with Swarovski.
Further activities resulting from the project Villgrater Nature Products comprise the marketing of huts on pastures (“Holidays in Freedom”), creation of hiking paths (smuggler routes to Italy), excursions, developing health beds, a farmer shop selling regional agricultural specialities and much more.
Is there made use of endogenous resources? Which ones?
- Regional sheep (lamb, wool, milk) and wood (health beds): in the meantime the whole Austrian sheep wool production is processed within the region.
- Regional agricultural products
What is the specific relevance of the results for the Alps?
Expansion of the sheep breeding in the region itself and other Alpine regions. Alpine regions provide perfect conditions for the sheep breeding which represents a sustainable and environmentally-sound form of cultivation (conservation of pastures, reduction of avalanches). Furthermore, sheep products fit the current wellness and health trend.
Project executive
Main responsibilities:
- Quality check, product development.
- Marketing of own and regional agricultural products.
- Coordination of activities and instigating new projects.
- Strengthening the cooperation between the participants (tourism, agriculture, etc.).
- Increasing the region’s attractiveness by projects within the cooperation agriculture – tourism – gastronomy.
Participants
Participants:
- 40 regional farmers in the lamb production, woll production and the production of regional specialities (honey, sheep cheese, etc.)
- Josef Schett Limited Partnership
Partner for the distribution of the products of Villgrater Nature:
- 9 different retailing companies in Austria for the distribution of bedding and insulating materials
- 2 franchisees (Villgrater Nature Products Shop): Tyrol and Upper Austria.
- Reference customers contributing to the marketing of the products, e.g. Restaurant Gannerhof (lamb, mattresses made of sheep wool and insulation), Nature Hotel Waldklause (mattresses made of sheep wool and insulation), Schafferalm (mattresses made of sheep wool), Schuistlhof (bedding and insulation).
Intensive cooperation focusing the regional products exist with:
- Regional farmers: buying regional, agricultural products and specialities from farmes and selling them in the regional shop, lamb production.
- Regional gastronomy: processing regional lamb and sheep cheese (netwrok agriculture – gastronomy – tourism).
- Regional hotel industry (the region has a strong initiative “Farm Holidays”): common exhibition in summer 2005, equipping a hotel in the Ötztal and the hotel Gannerhof in Innervillgraten with Villgrater Nature beds and insulation (information and coupons for the guests in the hotel’s rooms (incentive: the hotel receives a premium if a guest buys Villgrater Nature products) as marketing activity)
- Regional industry: e.g. carpenters (health beds), retailers for building material, construction industry, etc.
External cooperations:
- Business consultant agency Kollar (Innsbruck) and the agency Zinell & Madritsch in the development of the project, evaluation and markting activities.
- Butchery in the marketing of meat
- Austria Tourism Eastern Tyrol (e.g. marketing of “Holidays in Freedom”, Oberstalleralm)
- Regional travel organisation: Schmidhofer Autounternehmen GesmbH
- Club Eastern Tyrol (platform for people from Eastern Tyrol)
- Schmidhofer Autounternehmen GesmbH, Reiseunternehmen in Innervillgraten
- Tax advisor
- Economic Chamber of Tyrol and Chamber of Agriculture (networking, support in the application for funds)
Initiatives and platforms in which Villgrater Nature participates at present:
- Association Competency Network Health in Eastern Tyrol (Josef Schett is chairman): finding, using, connecting and marketing of resources within the scope of health and wellness. Safeguarding working places within the core competency health and instigating the foundation of companies.
- Regional culture: Castle Anras (has a shop selling Villgrater Nature Products: „Kornkasten“)
- City Market Lienz
- Association Nature from Eastern Tyrol.
Key person
Josef Schett is the initiator and driving force of the project: honorary commitment, setting new impulses and instigating new projects. On the other side, it is very risky, if a project depends strongly on one person.
Project trigger:
Josef Schett had to decide on his future: taking over the farm of his parents or working further in a bank. The farm concentrated on the milk production and, therefore, did not yield poorly. Josef Schett recognised the potential of lamb (concerning production conditions and market trend), analysed the market and took the risk to build-up a lamb production.
Objectives
- Generating regional value added in an outlying, rural and alpine region with a weak regional economy
- Safeguarding and creating working places within the region
- Safeguarding existing products and developing new products to generate economic value added for the regional agriculture
- Integrating tourism and gastronomy in the project focusing the health and wellness trend
Activities
- Marketing and processing sheep products within the region: sheep cheese, sheep wool, lamb, etc.
- Building-up a cross-regional distribution network for the regional products: franchisees, distribution partners, etc.
- Cooperate with the regional gastronomy and tourism: menu containing regional specialities, positioning as culinary tourism destination. A touristic project concerning the arriving travel groups is planned at present: currently travel groups are not provided with regional products and specialities when they stop for a bite to eat: cooperation with regional farmers offering regional specialities as snack (“Jause”) to transfer the region’s uniqueness to the tourists. Creating culinary travel experiences.
- Pubic relations and marketing activities (Villgrater Sheep Farmer Days, cooperation with Austria Tourism Eastern Tyrol, etc.)
- Expansion of sheep wool processing: Woolin Ltd. In cooperation with Swarovski, entering the markets outside Europe
- Product development: sheep wool as insulation
- Association Competency Network Health in eastern Tyrol
- Regional platform Association Nature from Eastern Tyrol: network of 12 companies in Eastern Tyrol aiming at supporting each other and common marketing initiatives for regional products, e.g. exhibition in Vienna and Castle Schönnbrunn. A shop (“Osttirolladen”) in Vienna is planned for winter 2005.
- Developing tourism offers focusing hiking: hiking on the routes of smugglers between Eastern Tyrol and Italy, production of a book with information on these routes.
- “Alpdorf Stalleralm”: revitalisation of huts on pastures and marketing the tourism offer “Holidays in Freedom”. This project represents an important additional income for the regional farmers.
Process
Preparatory phase: revitalisation of huts on pastures (Alpdorf Stalleralm). The spartan equipped huts are rented out to tourists („Holidays in Freedom“) and represent an important additional income for the regional farmers. The project was supported and accompanied by the Regional Consultancy Ltd. ÖAR (consultant Hans Schönegger).
1. Phase (1986) – building-up the marketing of lamb and sheep cheese: foundation of the Villgrater Frischlamm Civil Law Association by 3 farmers of Eastern Tyrol. The process was supported by the Regional Consultancy Ltd. ÖAR, the University of Innsbruck conducted a market analysis. The company bought an pasture for the production location and integrated partners in the project (gastronomy).
2. Phase (1987) – testing the capacity of sheep wool as insulation because the lamb processing produced a great amount of sheep wool as spin-off product. Cooperation with a research institution in Switzerland (1988) and starting with the preparatory work for the realisation.
3. Phase (since 1991) – expansion of the sheep wool and lamb processing: replace the Villgrater Frischlamm Civil Law Association by the Villgrater Nature Products Limited Partnership because it was not possible to sell beddings and insulation material under the label “Frischlamm” (fresh lamb). In 1992 Villgarter Nature founded a production location for the processing of sheep wool in Innervillgraten. The production location included the administration and a shop in which 30 regional farmers sell their products.
4. Phase - Development of a health programme: mattresses, a healthy slatted frame and a healthy bed was developed in cooperation with Prof. Willi Dungl and regional carpenters (are responsible for the production).
5. Phase (2003) – entering markets outside Europe with insulation made of sheep wool: the Woolin Ltd. was founded in cooperation with the company Swarovski. Objective: processing the total Austrian production of sheep wool (320.000kg).
6. Current phase – extension of marketing activities and markets for Villgrater Nature Products and regional specialities: shop in Vienna (“Osttirolladen“) is planned for winter 2005.
Results
- 8 working places (in the processing and the management) were created
- about 600 lambs are processed for the gastronomy
- processing annually 20 to 70 tonnes of sheep wool within the region
- Awareness for cross-sectoral cooperation was created within the region and the agriculture
- Tourism: positioning as culinary tourism destination, pastures (“Holidays in Freedom”)
- Selling sheep products in whole Austria and Europe
- Product innovation: sheep cheese, woolin, insulation material
- Expansion: Woolin Ltd. (in cooperation with the company Swarovski) ought to enter the markets outside Europe
- Awards: ISO 9001 certification, A.K.T.-Vision 1991 (award for cooperation projects within the scope of agriculture, culture and tourism) for the revitalisation of the Alpdorf Stalleralm, Austrian Agricultural Marketing Award, BDO Auxilia Award 1999 (for projects which are economically and ecologically profitable), IBO-Label 2002 for the insulation material, Qality Label natureplus for the product Woolin, ISO 9001 certification.
Success Factors:
- Key person Josef Schett: his commitment and inventive talent.
- Support of the Regional Consultancy Ltd. ÖAR in the beginning of the project: lead to the professional implementation of the project, instigated the cooperation with the University of Innsbruck
- Luck: Josef Schett recognised the market trends in time (in the beginning: agriculture faced a surplus production of milk and beef – sheep products were hardly produced by Austrian farmers, health and wellness trend).
- The participants were prepared to take risks.
Evaluation
- Annual financial statements of the regional companies: showing information on the efficiency and sustainability of the companies.
- Market analysis, feasibility study and collection of market data at the beginning of the project: cooperation with the University of Innsbruck
- There are constantly evaluations (sales, markets, trends, etc.) in order to recognise new market trends, employ market potentials and implementing new projects: Josef Schett Limited Partnership (administration), support of the business consultancy Koller and the agency Zinell & Madritsch. This evaluations is for the belief and the trust of the participants important too: showing results and proofing prosperities.
Difficulties
- At project start: no experience in sheep breeding and production of lamb, wool and sheep cheese. Hard work, some luck and taking a lot of risk helped Josef Schett to overcome this difficulties.
- Creation of cooperations: regional farmers did not dare to join and cooperate in the sheep breeding until the project was implemented and showed first prosperities. Meetings, information, consultancy and constant motivation was necessary to convince the regional farmers.
- Agricultural production: farmers did not produce in line with the market. Solution: informing and convincing the farmers, showing the benefits (fair price for high quality).
- The product development was difficult but the various awards and certifications demonstrate that this difficulties may be overcome by hard work and persistency.
Financial backer
Josef Schett Limited Partnership finances from own resources. The company received a small subsidy from the Province of Tyrol in the beginning (1986).
Woolin:
Foundation of the Woolin Ltd. in cooperation with the Swarovski company.
Touristic project focusing the culinary provision of travel groups:
An application for a promotion from the EU Initiative Interreg is intended (integrating partners from South Tyrol).
