A development from 1930s USA was on its way to being forgotten until Wolfgang Brasch from Germany’s Brandenburg region discovered the know-how and the possibilities of this “magical swirl” for creating delicious ice cream. Once the Berlin Wall had fallen, Wolfgang took the initiative. Today, his company Eis-Zauberei is franchised with wholesale trading along with special machinery manufacture and maintenance service.
By Dr. Jörg Häseler
The Eis-Zauberei headquarters is located in the town of Rheinsberg in the German state of Brandenburg. The mixing machinery for the products known as “EiZ” and shakes based on the American invention of the “magical swirl” can meanwhile be found in twenty countries around the world, including Japan. These delicious ice cream products are available in Germany at over 55 mobile or fixed locations.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a stroke of immense luck for many people. Wolfgang Brasch became acquainted with the magical ice cream machine mentioned above in West Berlin on the weekend following the fateful 9 November 1989. By 1990, he had already gone into business for himself and was moving toward expanding his business. “I started out as a franchisee. But only four weeks later, I switched sides and had already become a franchisor for an agreed region in the northeast of what had formerly been East Germany”, he reports with justifiable pride.
The company, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2015, has now ten employees. In 1997, the company used EU subsidies and funding from the European Social Fund to develop its own mixing machine, designed to be more stable, quieter, lighter and more compliant with the important hygienic requirements. The project was supported by the German state of Brandenburg‘s official investment bank, the ILB, and the state’s guarantee bank, the BBB. The aim back then was to manufacture the machine’s entire housing in stainless steel and to optimize its electronics.
Mr. Brasch received support from the Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology in Berlin, which conducted extensive testing with new materials and shapes, ultimately resulting in a well-designed, transparent machine that gave customers a look inside the production. Mr. Brasch reports, “Around ten companies were involved in the latest version, handling everything from the electronics to the motors and supplying the lighting. Since 2003, the machine has been built and constantly improved on the basis of continuous new experience”.
Each EiZ is bound up with a new, wholly individual taste experience, because anyone can design their own ice cream product. “Everyone can experiment to their heart’s desire, because everyone decides themselves what they like”, explains Mr. Brasch.
Customers can watch the production process
The manufacturing principle is simple. A circular slice of pre-manufactured organic-based ice cream is inserted into a pre-installed mixing cone featuring a star-shaped outlet. This cone ensures that all of the natural ingredients inside it are mixed together with the basic ice cream into a delicious EiZ, which is pressed into the wafer cone and handed over to the hungry customer.
The details of how it works are like this: The “ice cream magician” adds a portion of the –18 °C basic ice cream into the cylindrical mixing cone, then uses a lever to press it downwards and closes the star-shaped outlet to prevent smaller ingredients or liquids from escaping the cone prior to the mixing process. Now, the customer’s individually chosen ingredients are added, and the mixing begins by pressing down the operating lever while at the same time the mixing cone and its entire contents are quickly transported upwards to the rapidly rotating swirler.
The swirler is the key invention from the USA. It crushes and mixes the entire contents into a homogenous mass. This process only lasts a few seconds and the freshly conjured, tailor-made EiZ leaves the mechanical cone for the wafer ice cream cone. The operator watches everything along with the customer. The natural flavours of the ingredients and their components are retained throughout the entire process.
All basis ice cream varieties are certified organic
After the mixing process, cleaning is conducted by rinsing with water located in a tank in the device. Mr. Brasch explains, “If more thorough cleaning is required, a brush and cloth are used to remove any residual ice cream from the swirler, and the previously unused clean cone is inserted”. People allergic to dairy products or nuts and those who are lactose-intolerant can also enjoy EiZ with no worries. Licensing partners are also covered in the event a repair is needed since the company also supervises the maintenance of the appliances, restoring the operational functionality of the mixing machines within 48 hours.
What customers taste are above all regional products without artificial colourings or flavours. There is no limit to what can be used, from sea buckthorn taken from Brandenburg’s fields to strawberries grown by local farmers. Franchisees look after the acquisition of the ingredients themselves, although products containing alcohol are generally frowned upon. But there are plenty of other special ingredients such as organic ginger-oil, matcha tea and other super-foods.
The basis of all EiZ flavours is the organic basis ice cream, aside from the pure fruit sorbet, which customers can put together themselves from the frozen fruit on hand at the POS. There are four different organic basis ice cream varieties: two milk and two rice milk varieties (vegan and lactose-free). All of the basis ice cream varieties are certified organic and are made using the company’s own recipes. They contain low amounts of sugar and fat, meaning they are also low-calorie foods. Mr. Brasch explains further, “Diabetics, people who are gluten-intolerant and people with allergies are not excluded from the fun; we have our fruit sorbets for them”.
Franchisees can be booked for trade fairs, company anniversary events, family celebrations and more, offering guests something they don’t get to see every day. How about a yogurt ice cream with horseradish? More than 365 varieties can be conjured up right before guests’ eyes! Anyone can create their own speciality. The company helps franchisees to find the right combination, but it’s the customers who decide what ends up in their ice cream: herbs, candies, fruits, cookies, nuts, spices, coffee, tea...the sky’s the limit! For instance, at the recent ISM trade fair, Hanns G. Werner company joined up with Wolfgang Brasch for the fifth time already and presented their lozenges and sugar crumbles for attendees to try out as a topping on this “EiZ” cream!
And Wolfgang Brasch is by no means ready to retire. He’s busy at the moment working on improving recipes. He comments, “The agave syrup is going to go. The natural sugar content of the ingredient in question should be enough on its own, or perhaps supplemented only with organic quality sugar. But the end of the development of the machine and the entire concept is still a long way off, because I’m not adverse either to the automation of the whole process”.
