It all starts with hospitality
“We genuinely care about our partners, and we want to be involved in developing both our businesses in the right direction. We support one another. That is truly important,” says Norex Key Account Manager and Brand Ambassador Aatu Ståhlhammar. He has had a long career of about 15 years in the restaurant industry, which he originally entered by chance after finding work behind the bar at a nightclub as a young adult.
The journey has since taken him to restaurants of all sizes and shapes, with a particular focus on cocktail bars. His career has taken him from Finland to as far as Australia and later also to beverage companies. Thanks to his cocktail bar experience, his areas of expertise include spirits, but New World wines are also familiar to him, as his career took him all the way to Australia. His diverse experience continues to be an advantage in many ways; for example, it’s easier to understand customers’ businesses and needs when you can relate to them through your own experiences.
It has naturally been easy to make friends with like-minded people in the industry who share the same values. Relationships and a wide network carry all the way through to the customer experience. “Relationships with people are the most important thing, both personal and corporate. In fact, almost all my customers are good acquaintances and even friends.”
Aatu’s role at Norex is diverse. When he’s not in customer meetings, you might find Aatu in the office developing new ideas with product managers or perhaps in the marketing room creating new marketing plans. Sparring with the rest of the sales team is also very important to him. Events, training sessions, and tastings are also integral parts of his work.
What Aatu values most about his colleagues at Norex is their collective expertise and deep understanding of the Finnish alcohol market. His own values align with Norex’s values.
Towards better drinking habits and beyond
Professionally, he names hospitality, developing the restaurant industry and drinking culture, and helping people as his most important guiding principles and goals, and these are reflected in his work daily. Mutual trust, mutual understanding, and genuine interest in the best solutions for the customer are self-evident matters for the people-oriented Aatu.
He also has a burning desire to develop the industry towards better drinking habits and better hospitality. His desire to develop the industry has also been recognized internationally, as he is a nominee in the Nordic Bartenders’ Choice Awards competition in March 2023.
Hospitality, hospitality, is evident in Aatu’s work in such a way that, for example, when he is training, he always prefers to refer to customers as guests. Even a small word matters for one’s mindset, and he sees it as improving the restaurant or bar experience as a whole. “There is a completely different and warmer atmosphere when we think that we are doing this for guests.”
Similarly, it’s important to Aatu to increase respect for the restaurant industry itself and to highlight the expertise of industry professionals. He is one of the organizers of the Good Ones competition, which anyone working in the restaurant industry can apply to with a low threshold. The most important keys to success in the competition are excellent customer service skills, taking guests’ wishes into account, and creating experiences.
The restaurant industry has been in turmoil in recent years due to long closures and restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, which caused many problems. The effects are still visible both in Finland and globally, and as a result, many experienced professionals left the industry.
Aatu sees that the importance of taking care of employees has been emphasized in these times, and the times have also challenged companies to develop better practices to replace the exhausting work culture and to pay attention to staff as their most important resource. This also includes the responsibility of managers to listen and be genuinely present for employees. As an example, he highlights HIMKOK in Oslo, which is one of the world’s most respected bars. There, the staff works a four-day work week, and the fifth day is reserved for self-education or doing things together.
A smart and quality future
In the future of the restaurant industry, Aatu sees the increasing use of smart devices in various ways and at different stages of service processes, as well as the automation of dangerous or boring, time-consuming tasks with robots. He also highlights the premiumization trend, where people prefer to drink less but higher-quality beverages. Alcohol-free drinks and green values, starting from beverage packaging materials, are also growing in popularity. Among drink trends, rum is gaining popularity as a beverage category, and premiumization is also visible there.
Aatu is a great fan of coffee and specialty coffees and also likes to use coffee in cocktails. One of his favorite combinations is pineapple and coffee flavors together. Coffee drinks came along from his time in Australia, as for example, the Espresso Martini is an extremely popular cocktail there.
For coffee liqueurs, he recommends Tia Maria Cold Brew for drinks, which can be paired with rum. The flavor profile of rum supports the aromas of coffee, adding more dimensions to the drinks.
