Drink a Hi-Fish Beer and eat a Super Rich!
There are 80,000 super-rich people living on our planet. Collectively, they are as wealthy as the remaining 8 billion people. I am certain that you, dear reader, also belong to the poorer 99%. But why are these super-rich people so rich? We give them the money by buying from them. But why do we do that? Nobody forces us to shop at Amazon, and yet many of us do, making Jeff Bezos even richer. We can buy a book in a specialised shop and also order it if they don’t have your book at the moment. Why do we transfer money to Zalando and send endless parcels back and forth when we can try on and buy good clothes in a real boutique? It’s time to think about who we give our money to and who we support with it. Multinationals like Syngenta and Monsanto don’t care if we protest on the streets for more climate protection and social justice – as long as our money keeps flowing to them. Now is the time to turn off this money tap and instead support people and companies by buying from them. Our shark on the ‘Hi-Fish Beer’ wants to tell us exactly that! So ‘Drink a Hi-Fish Beer and eat a super-rich!’ Eat the super-rich by stopping giving them money and instead supporting companies that mean something to you. If you look closely, you’ll see a human skeleton next to the shark – it’s what’s left of a super-rich…
Perhaps you now think I have something against wealth and the rich. But that’s not the case. I don’t have a problem with money at all – just without it. I think wealth is a beautiful thing and I think we should share it with each other. In this way, wealth can unfold a healing power. There are enough resources in the world for everyone to lead a good life. Perhaps a little more modesty would be called for in some cases. Perhaps we don’t need an SUV just because we’ve had a child. Maybe seasonal produce from the region is good enough to feed us and doesn’t have to be flown over to us from the other side of the world. Even the Amazon would not have to be cleared to produce animal feed for the meat industry so that we get cheap meat on our plates every day. In today’s crisis-ridden times, it is essential to reflect on our consumer behaviour and manage our money wisely. Remember that your consumer behaviour is vital for the survival of our SMEs, especially in times of coronavirus. To show you what miraculous things can happen when you specifically support someone with a purchase, I’ll tell you my story from last night.
I bought an art print from illustrator Samuel Jordi on Facebook and set off to pick it up. Before I do, I put two crates of Hi-Fish Beer in my shopping trolley, one for the artist and one for DJ Pistache, who is currently playing live at the Out Wear store.
I live in the old town of Winterthur and Samuel’s studio is in the Lagerplatz in the Sulzer area on the other side of the railway station. Because it’s so arse-cold, I want to take the shortest route there. But funny enough, I’m walking in the wrong direction, something is pulling me away from the planned route.
Suddenly I’m standing in front of the legendary ‘Gotthard 1900’ restaurant at the Untertor near the railway station. The Gotthard used to be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is now, like all pubs, in the middle of a corona lockdown. But today they have set up a take-away in the window. In front of it is a sign that reads ‘Boxen Stop!!!’ and behind it, the boss himself. Yves Sauter and a few friends drink a hot wine at a safe distance and I have a coffee Lutz. The perfect spot for my Hi-Fish Beer, I say to myself and ask if I can take a photo. Everyone is happy to pose for my mobile phone and now Richi joins us. Everyone knows Richi from the Loge bar. I haven’t seen Richi for a long time and get his name mixed up – hello Felice, I say to him, but Felice was the neighbourhood cat that Richi used to give a little ham from time to time ;) Unfortunately I have to take the beer back with me, it’s for the artist. But I promise to bring the guests a crate to try during the week.
Now I’m running a bit late and cross under the railway tracks, where some surprisingly great pictures appear again, very cool guys and an even cooler juggler. They all like to stand in front of my mobile phone lens too :)
When I arrive at the Lagerplatz, Samuel is already waiting for me with the nicely wrapped art print. He also gives me a postcard and a sticker as a gift. Samuel is delighted with the Hi-Fish Beer and also shows interest in designing motifs for a Hi-Fish T-shirt range one day.
Such an unplanned fun evening, I think, and quickly stop by the hot wine stand in front of the Archhöfe. My Hi-Fish Beer would fit in well there too, maybe someone would like a beer for a change. I only have beer mats with me, but that works too. The stand is run by GastroZürich and has a nice garden restaurant, but unfortunately nobody is allowed to sit there because of corona. Now it’s time for takeaway and the barman Jan prepares me a nice coffee Lutz. Jan likes the idea of the beer and I promise him a promotional carton on Monday.
All of these great and chance encounters came about because I bought a painting from an artist to make a small gesture in these hard times and buy something from someone whose work I like.
If something similar has happened to you when you supported someone with a purchase – please tell us your story!
Hi-Fish Beer ist eine Quöllfrisch-Guerilla-Edition, das von der Brauerei Locher in Appenzell gebraut und abgefüllt wird. Das helle Quöllfrisch ist das wohl beliebteste Schweizer Bier und die Brauerei Locher ist ein traditionsreiches Familien-Unternehmen mit dem wir viele Werte teilen. So wie die Brauerei Locher, unterstützt auch Hi-Fish Kulturschaffende in der Schweiz und fördert ein nachhaltiges Konsumverhalten. Unsere Bier-Etikette wurde von István Vizner konzipiert und umgesetzt. István hat Mitte 90er-Jahre bereits grafische Arbeiten für Hi-Fish gestaltet, er lebt heute in Arizona USA.
von Jenny Jost im Januar 2021