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Blün / Vegetable and fish producer from Vienna
Experts for sustainable aquaculture and fresh vegetables from Vienna
blün – this the combination of blue and green (“blau” & “grün”), of fish and vegetables. These are also the colours of sustainability for the founders of the Viennese start-up blün. Behind this business, which is devoted to aquaponics, an innovative recirculation system, are four young farmers with a vision.
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“We are completely convinced that quality, in conjunction with the protection of our oceans and the climate, as well as with consideration for our grandchildren, is the key for the future.”
This is the creed that the four founders of blün, Gregor Hoffmann with his friends Michael Berlin, Bernhard Zehetbauer, and Stefan Bauer, have committed themselves to.
Since 2016, they have been farming fish and vegetables at the edge of Vienna. And because they love good food just as much as innovation, they work with a state-of-the-art farming method, aquaponics. “‘Aqua... what?’ – I get this question a lot when I talk about our business,” laughs Gregor Hoffmann. “It is actually an ancient system of recirculation that farmers have been using for centuries, when they utilise the manure from their animals to make their fields more fertile. We do the same when we use the water from our fish as fertiliser for our vegetables.”
The “side effects” of aquaponics techonology and philosophy are appreciated by the restaurateurs in the Austrian capital as well. blün’s fish as well as vegetables can be found on Thomas Hahn’s menu, owner of one of the city’s top restaurants, Labstelle in Vienna’s first district: “The tomatoes, the wels catfish, and the perch absolutely won me over with their quality and remarkable taste.”
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Blün / Vegetable and fish producer from Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Blün / Vegetable and fish producer from Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Blün / Vegetable and fish producer from Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Blün / Vegetable and fish producer from Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Blün / Vegetable and fish producer from Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Blün / Vegetable and fish producer from Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped
A conversation with Gregor Hoffmann
We are four fathers who want to use our abilities to make a contribution to making the world better for our children and grandchildren.
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Gregor Hoffmann
austria.info:
Where did you four get the idea for your start-up and aquaponics? Was there a kind of epiphany?
Gregor:
Before blün I worked as a “tomato whisperer’” – a consultant – for international high-tech companies involved in vegetable production for 15 years. That’s also where I met Stefan, Michael and Bernhard [the other founders of Blün]. In working together, we discovered we had many things in common and became friends. We are four fathers who want to use our abilities to make a contribution to making the world better for our children and grandchildren. When we asked ourselves how we could implement these ideas in our sector we had the brilliant idea of taking the traditional technique of recirculation and transferring it to the modern age in order to raise fish and cultivate vegetables in a sustainable and resource-efficient way for the city of Vienna.
austria.info:
Do the tomatoes – or, as the Viennese say, “Paradeiser” – from blün taste different than tomatoes from Italy?
Gregor:
No, but we place importance on growing tasty varieties like beefsteak and oxheart tomatoes. We have a lot of customers who say: “These tomatoes taste like the ones I remember from Grandma or from holidays.”
austria.info:
What is that humming sound in the greenhouse by the tomato plants?
Gregor:
Those are our bumblebees. Unlike normal bees, they stay in one place. They are responsible for pollinating the tomato, capsicum, and aubergine plants in the greenhouse.
austria.info:
At blün, nothing goes to waste. This is why you use leftover tomatoes to make ketchup, which is available at shops like Wein & Co in Vienna. Tastes great, by the way. You also focus on small markets. Why?
Gregor:
In recent years there has been a noticeable trend of people becoming interested in health and nutrition. And they want to know where their food comes from. They prefer shopping at small markets and corner stores. Even butchers add our fish to their product range. By the way, vegetables and fish from blün can now be found on the menu of 50 restaurants in Vienna.
austria.info:
blün produces their goods in a sustainable manner. Sustainability is also connected to thoughts about future generations. Why are you so concerned with sustainability?
Gregor:
I’m obsessed with quality. I find it fascinating how the vintners refine the grapes from the vineyards and then talk about notes of lemon or cinnamon. I am completely convinced that quality, in conjunction with the protection of our oceans and the climate, as well as with consideration for our grandchildren, is the key for the future. We are a small manufacturer with precisely this ambition. For me, this is blün.
austria.info:
You live in a city that is among the most liveable in the world. What do you like about Vienna?
Gregor:
What I like about Vienna is that you live in a big city with lots of green space. My family and I live in the 18th district – in Vienna’s “green belt” – and spend a lot of time in the Türkenschanzpark and in the Pötzleinsdorf palace park. From here, it is also only a stone’s throw to the Schafberg or to the Vienna Woods. Since my wife is an architect, we like looking at buildings, like the “Zacherlfabrik”, a former rug factory. They used to use a substance made from chrysanthemums as a moth repellent. This is fascinating for a plant expert like me. My job never really lets go of me. I find inspiration for my work everywhere.
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Aquaponics: a promising model for the future
When fish farming and vegetable cultivation are joined together in a closed circulation loop, this is called aquaponics. It is a sustainable, innovative technology in which no water is lost. Vienna’s piped-in mountain spring water, in which the fish swim, is turned into liquid nutrients for the plants in the greenhouse: tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, and aubergines.
The water is permeated with natural fish waste that supports the vegetables in their growth and contains neither heavy metals nor environmental toxins, as the fish – wels catfish and perch – are raised indoors and are thus also free of these harmful substances. In this closed-circuit system, nothing is lost, and everything is utilised.
Restaurants that serve vegetables and fish from blün
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Restaurant Labstelle / Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Restaurant Labstelle / Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Restaurant Labstelle / Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Restaurant Labstelle / Vienna media_content.tooltip.skipped
Labstelle Vienna. “Food with no frills” is how this restaurant in Vienna’s city centre describes its cuisine. Essential for its culinary creations are high-quality regional and seasonal ingredients. Labstelle is one of many high-end restaurants in which fish and vegetables from blün are popular selections.
Where you can find blün products in Vienna
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Vienna: One of the world’s greenest cities
Vienna has been voted the world’s most liveable city multiple times. There are countless reasons for this – one of them is that over half the city is covered with green spaces. Wherever you happen to be in Vienna, the nearest park is never far away. Expansive parks and nature conservation areas, the Vienna Woods, vineyards, and the Danube area are a pure delight for nature lovers.
It is no wonder that 456 species of bees make their home in Vienna as well – more than in any other European city. Another thing that’s good to know: the Viennese drinking water right from the tap and from drinking fountains in the city is pure spring water from the Alps – and one can taste it.
10 tips for discovering green Vienna
Dining in green Vienna
The harvest of art
The famous paining 'Summer' by Arcimboldos from his 'Four-Elements' series can be admired in the Kunsthistorischen Museum.
Discover Austria by train
