Veganista: Honest vegan ice cream.

View of forthcoming trends

"We opened the first store in 2013. At that time, the vegan movement was still in its infancy," recalls founder Cecilia Havmöller. "Back then, we had to explain the term “vegan” and were met with incredulous looks." Today, veganism has become mainstream. A large part of the population is already committed to the diet, which  completely excludes animal products, i.e. including milk and eggs. Veganista has been synonymous with honest vegan ice cream for 10 years and, with its eccentric creations, it has won over not only vegan ice cream lovers. Now that the four Veganista SPAR varieties “Nuts about you”, “Strawberrytella”, “Kiss the Cookie” and “Fudge Off” have been spreading sweetness right across Austria for a year, it is time for the popular ice cream family to grow. The three new flavours “Nougat me good”, “Me, Myself & Eis” and “Eis Date” are living up to their name; the ice-cold, irresistibly delicious and 100% vegan treats can be found in SPAR fridges throughout Austria.

Flexible seasonal business

"Like it or not, ice cream is a seasonal product," says Susanna Paller, who is also a Veganista founder and responsible for coming up with creative flavours  in the sibling duo's company. The season begins in mid-February and lasts until the end of October. But ice cream lovers can breathe easy: Veganista’s flagship store in Vienna's Neustiftgasse is open almost all year round (six-week winter break). In addition to the stores, the two entrepreneurs also operate pop-up stores that are only open for a limited number of weeks, for example in Vienna's MuseumsQuartier. "Consequently, we work a lot with seasonal workers, marginally employed students or part-time workers. In total, our team consists of around 150 outstanding employees. Some stay with us all season, others only during uni holidays or only help out on Saturdays."

Veganism takes off at the airport

Veganista and The LaLa move in to the Vienna Airport: With a floor space of more than 50 m², Austria’s first combined Veganista & The LaLa takeaway restaurant will open in the newly designed Terminal 2.

Flexibility is a must. AirKey offers it.

But how do you implement the required flexibility in the numerous stores? It was a coincidence that came to the aid of the two ambitious entrepreneurs here. Just opposite their first shop was security company Entrich. Christian Kapuy, now a sales representative at EVVA, has looked after the project from the very beginning. He recalls: "The two of them came to us and described what they wanted. I knew immediately that AirKey was the right solution."

And the smartphone locks everything

AirKey satisfies all of the requirements: it is flexible. The employees open the stores with their mobile phones. Their access can be blocked or extended at any time, for example if someone no longer needs access to a store. New team members can be added easily, and former employees can be removed just as easily. And of course, all access systems can also be locked centrally. Users have full control at all times. AirKey now opens all Veganista stores and also the youngest baby of the creative sisters, the 100% vegan grab-and-go food concept "The LaLa", as well as the production facility in the heart of the 7th district of Vienna. AirKey is available as a padlock for the pop-up stores – just as easy to operate as all the others. "For the few of us who do not have a smartphone, there is still the good old-fashioned transponder," laughs Cecila Havmöller. “With EVVA, we are really prepared for everything”.

Technology on site

Project: Complete locking concept for Veganista and The LaLa as well as the production facility
Scope: 35 components installed, 70 transponders in use in addition to mobile solution
Implementation: Entrich
Product: AirKey
Facility category: Food chain with multiple locations
Country: Austria

AirKey at a glance

• Send keys to smartphones via the Internet
• Also suitable for complex access systems
• Free and simple online administration for setting up and blocking access
• Flexibility, independence and simple application with modern security
• End-to-end and SSL encrypted data transfer
• Long battery service life (approximately two years)
• Can be used outdoors at temperatures from -20 to +55 degrees Celsius
   

More Info about AirKey