Doris Erne: ‘I consulted my Venture Challenge course materials whenever I was in the appropriate phase with my business’

30.03.2021 07:51, Isabelle Mitchell

Doris Erne founded Wood & Field in 2018, intending to put the spotlight on whey, a by-product of cheese production. Doris, who has a degree in food science, realized that upcycling whey creates an organic, lactose-free protein drink that helps combat food waste. Wood & Field launched its first whey-based drink, Jomo Shake, in 2018, but the reception was underwhelming. Two years, one rebranding, and many entrepreneurial lessons later, Wood & Field found a new production partner and is set to make its new whey-based drink, Molke Shake, fly off the shelves. We talked to Doris about Wood & Field’s journey and what a Venture Challenge has to do with her startups’ success.

“With Jomo Shake, the positioning was not quite right: The aspects of reducing food waste and upcycling whey did not get enough attention. Nobody understood what they could expect from Jomo Shake,” explained Doris the challenges she encountered when launching her first product. The lack of access to retailers through the production partner and an unobtrusive design did not help either. The production of Jomo Shake came to a halt in 2019. But Doris and her team at Wood & Field did not give up and launched Molke Shake in 2020: The production process and the high quality stayed the same, but the product now comes in two new flavors, mango and berries, and an eye-catching design. “We can now produce organic quality, but most importantly, we can now work with Schwyzer Milchhuus as a production partner and receive a lot of support,” said Doris. And that support took Molke Shake all the way to one of Switzerland’s retail giants: Since March 2021, Molke Shake is available at Migros (Migros Genossenschaften Aare, Basel, and Zurich).

Doris, Molke Shake has been available at Migros for a few days. Have you received any feedback yet?  
The Molke Shake at Migros is still brand new, and it hasn’t even made it to the refrigerated shelves in most stores yet, which is why we have no direct customer feedback* from Migros customers at this point. But I have already received a lot of great feedback and many congratulations from my friends, family, and colleagues. Most of them know how long we have been working on the idea and what a valuable step the listing with the three large Migros cooperatives is. 

Whey-based drinks are not well-known yet in Switzerland. How are you going to change that? 
That whey-based drinks are often unknown is just the first obstacle: Many people think they know that they will not like the taste of whey. Our whey drink is a new taste experience. It will surprise everyone with a creamy and yogurt-fruity taste. We achieve this by protein enrichment and fermentation with yogurt cultures. The first reaction after trying Molke Shake is often “Oh, it’s super delicious and refreshing!” Molke Shake is simply a natural, enjoyable refreshment in between meals—with a lot of additional benefits: It is organic, high in protein, lactose-free, and, last but not least, it helps combat food waste! 

The launch of Jomo Shake did not go as planned. Why did you continue with Wood & Field and with whey? 
Because the vision has not changed: We want to make a significant contribution to sustainable production and consumption patterns and be one of the most innovative, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible companies in Swiss food production. We are impact entrepreneurs through and through. We are driven not only by achieving financial profit but also by ensuring that the environment and society benefit equally from our solutions. The focus on whey and how we can bring it back into the cycle as high-quality food, therefore, makes a lot of sense. Food waste in Switzerland causes 24% of the environmental impact of the entire Swiss food system, and whey is the most significant contributor in the area of production. At the same time, whey—with its valuable whey proteins, vitamins, and minerals—holds a lot of potential for healthy, locally produced nutrition.

What advice would you give to an entrepreneur whose startups might not have taken off as planned? 
Develop the right mindset. Things will rarely go as planned, and it takes patience, perseverance, and a stand-up mentality to make a company work. It helps me a lot to become aware of the limits I set myself with my thoughts—and then exceed them just as consciously. After all, thoughts are just that: imaginary boundaries. And there is always a plan B to achieve our visions if we are strong enough. When I was at my lowest point with Jomo Shake, a person important to me told me that “letting go is not giving up,” and I took that to heart.

In 2017, you participated in the Venture Challenge course. How has this helped lay the foundation for Wood & Field? 
The course showed me in a very short time what it takes to build a successful startup—from A-Z. At the time of the course, I was not yet ready to understand and, above all, implement everything. But I consulted the course material repeatedly when I was in the appropriate phase with my business. However, what was particularly helpful for me was the access to the world-class speakers and the inspiration from the other participants. Some now very successful startups were in the same course. This gave me a lot of confidence and inspired me to think big. 

You mentioned in a LinkedIn comment that you still use the course materials from Venture Challenge. What was the last thing you looked up? 
Last November, I looked at the entire second workshop, “The story of your startup,” when I was preparing various pitches searching for Seed investment.

Looking at the first three years of Wood & Field, standing still is not an option. With Molke Shake establishing itself on the market, what are your plans for the future?
I am working on a joint product with the startup KOA, whose goals are very similar to ours. We will launch a new powder-based product made from Swiss whey before the end of the year. We are currently running a project with the Bern University of Applied Sciences to develop our manufacturing technology further. A larger project with the University of Applied Sciences, together with the federal research institute Agroscope and industry partners, is also being planned. In the project, we want to develop solutions so that smaller, decentralized cheese dairies can also use the whey locally and add value to it. 


The Wood & Field team: Doris Erne and Christian Studer


*Writer's note: After the interview, I went to Migros and bought and tried both Molke Shake flavors: 11/10 would recommend.