Soy sauce with a hint of hops: Hallertau start-up inspires top chefs - invention makes it onto TV
Created: 01/20/2022, 19:00
By: Armin Forster
Johannes Selmayer (left) and Tobias Zettelmeier founded the start-up HopSoy and now sell soy sauce with a hop flavor.
© private
Two founders from the Hallertau have developed a soy sauce with hops - and want to stir up German kitchens with it.
The response is promising.
Airischwand
– “Learn how to cook, you have a crisis-proof job,” everyone said to Johannes Selmayer. So the junior from the Huberhof in Airischwand (Markt Nandlstadt) joined his parents' business, where he now runs the kitchen. The 38-year-old would never have dreamed that a pandemic would mean that he would hardly pan for months. The industry of his friend Tobias Zettelmeier (34) is similarly shaken: The actor, known in the district for the improv theater stage polka, also had - thanks to Corona - more free time than he would have liked.
How fortunate that the two are extremely creative minds.
Because at some point Johannes Selmayer began to refine soy sauce with hops in his inn kitchen.
The plant that characterizes his homeland like no other.
The chef from Airischwand was impressed by the result and let his buddy Tobi try it.
When he was also completely enthusiastic, the two went on: A soy sauce with hops, that should sell well!
The tasting in Johannes Selmayer's network of colleagues also provided promising feedback.
"Several top chefs thought the sauce was great and said they would use it in their kitchen," he recalls.
"They said to me: 'See you get this in the bottle and on the market!'"
In cooking classes via online live stream, the friends creatively bridged the pandemic.
© private
No sooner said than done: The duo founded a company, had the HopSoy brand protected and distributed the tasks.
Show expert Zettelmeier took care of the appearance and marketing, while chef and inventor Selmayer took care of the product-specific issues.
In order not to have to do everything in advance, the founders decided on crowdfunding on
Startnext.com
, where many people finance a project together.
On the platform you can secure one or more bottles from the HopSoy in advance, and the collected money can then be used to produce.
Right at the beginning, HopSoy has a live appearance in the television kitchen
Her campaign got a huge boost right from the start: in the TV show by cabaret artist Hannes Ringlstetter at the turn of the year, a New Year's Eve menu was prepared live by meat expert and TV chef Lucki Maurer.
Maurer was also one of the aforementioned HopSoy pre-testers – and as such was so convinced of the product that he seasoned his sauce with HopSoy in front of the cameras.
"That gave us the right kickstart," says Selmayer.
In addition to raising funds, crowdfunding has another valuable effect for the founders: "It's also a bit of a market analysis for us," explains Selmayer.
The response has been extremely positive so far, the first defined target of 1000 euros has long been exceeded.
The campaign will now run until January 31st, and the founders are hoping for many more orders.
In line with the umami trend: the chef reveals recipe ideas with hop soy sauce
From the perspective of the experienced chef, the possibilities for using HopSoy are enormous and are by no means limited to Asian dishes: he uses his soy sauce for salad dressings, for example.
The hop note from HopSoy is also perfect for the classic dark beer sauce of a roast pork, Selmayer advertises his creation.
"You can also use it to marinate a hamburger: simply soak it in it overnight and then throw it on the grill." From the chef's point of view, the product really captures the spirit of the times: "Soy sauce is in demand everywhere at the moment, everyone wants something with umami .”
(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
The term is Japanese and means "delicious".
Umami does not enhance any of the four common tastes of sweet, sour, salty and bitter, but has long been recorded as an additional taste.
The perception occurs mainly in the pharynx and is felt when eating protein-rich food.
Suitable for meat lovers and vegans
The HopSoy sauce is both gluten-free and vegan - which was very important to the creators: "So that meat eaters as well as vegans have the opportunity to use our product," emphasizes Johannes Selmayer.
The hops used for the refinement come from a friend who grows in the vicinity of the Huberhof.
This fits with what Johannes Selmayer answers when asked about his personal HopSoy goal.
"Of course I could now say: become a millionaire." He laughs.
"But in the end it's like this: When you bring such a great product onto the market, you want to represent your home country with it."
Link to HopSoy crowdfunding campaign
If you are now in the mood for soy sauce with a hint of hops, you will find it at www.hopsoy.de.
The start-up is also represented on Facebook and Instagram.