Kicking off what I hope to be a weekly series of interviews I had the privilege of interviewing Gerhard from Weiner Vape Co (WV).
I decided to start with WV as when I started vaping three months ago Panama was one of the first Premium e-liquids I bought.
Gerhard comes accross very friendly and as a vaper with a passion for the vape community.
In our brief chat before the questions one quote stood out regarding giving up the stinkies "Some people forget that more than a business, vaping was and still is our passion first, and helping others to quit brings a HUGE smile to my face."
87hunter: Who is Weiner Vape Co? We all know the juice and the clever branding, but who is behind the juice? Tell us a little about yourselves.
WV: I am Gerhard the mixologist and lover of vaping! My hobby is my job. Candace is my wife and now works with me full time as well, she also likes taking photos and walks on the beach.
Jessica and Piet are our Lab assistants and they know everything there is to know about washing bottles and how to apply a label. Petrus runs the retail shop and his passion is re-wicking and vape tricks.
87hunter: How did WV come about?
WV: I quit smoking late 2013 with vaping. It then slowly became an obsession and when I found Ecigssa it became worse. I started experimenting with DIY and before you know it actually started mixing something I could actually vape. Back then recipes were not that easy to come by and most of them you found online were not that great so I just kept on buying new concentrates and testing them myself, then mixing what I thought would taste good. Pretty soon some of my friends started liking some of my creations enough to request that I make some for them... then pretty soon I was mixing every weekend to keep up with the local demand. In 2015 I decided to go full scale and take it serious and that is when I started Wiener Vape Co. Why Wiener? Well we have a furbaby (two now) and he is a wiener. So the name comes from him.
87hunter: In your opinion, which juice put you guys on the map?
WV: We started off with a full line of 5 flavours, back then RY4 was not very popular and our lowest selling liquid was Good Boy. But as people started exploring our range our sales on it kept increasing and increasing. I would say Good Boy is probably our most famous juice in the long run. But our newer juices like Jelly Monster and Panama are also very popular.
87hunter: Speaking of juices, how long does it take to create a new juice from concept to rolling the product out?
WV: Good Boy took about 18 months to get where I wanted it to be... but that was before we had a company and I mixed a batch of it every weekend and changed something every time. Our newer juices still take long but we tend to spend anything form a couple of months to a couple of weeks in development of the profile. Then we start the long steep tests to see how the juice will change over time. Depending on the profile a juice can take up to a year to see the light of day and be a full product.
87hunter: On average, how many revisions do you go through to perfect a new line?
WV: Sometimes many, more than 20 or even 30 revisions. Sometimes you get lucky lol.
87hunter: Taste is subjective, I personally prefer icy fruits over deserts. Do you guys have your own preferences? If so how do you test a line that is not in your particular profile?
WV: Lucky for me I like most profiles, this changes with my mood so generally I will mix or do revisions on the type of juice I am in the mood for at the time. I firstly always mix for my own tastes and if I like the juice enough then only do we send it out to our test group. I only ever release a juice once I can personally vape it for at least a couple of days in a row.
87hunter: The big question we all want to know. What gear do you guys roll with?
WV: Difficult to answer, I am addicted to buying new gear. What I have this week will be different next week. But my go to testing setup is almost always a dotmod 22mm dripper or Goon 22mm.
Candace likes to drip on her ziggs and whatever mod I have passed along to her.
Jessica loves her serpent RDTA on her Minikin or RX Gen3
Piet chases clouds on his Tesla WYE200W and Goon 24
Petrus uses his Tesla Invader 3 and Goon 1.5 for most of the day before he goes home to use his assortment of RDTA's
87hunter: Be honest now, how much juice do you guys each vape in a day?
WV: Too freaking much... I am always testing and I am always forcing the guys to test as well
87hunter: You have just opened a brick and mortar store, how is it going?
WV: We are helping a lot of new customers to quit smoking in our town and it is awesome!!!
87hunter: Racc City was a great addition with quality juices at an affordable price. How has the market reacted to Racc City?
WV: Customers are loving the brand and the juices, the price point makes it a little sweeter! We are getting very good feedback and people are loving the juices.
87hunter: Dogs and Raccoons, what’s the story behind these animals?
WV: We have wiener dogs.... and badly want a raccoon too!!! They are just awesome! So we put them on our labels. Know any place where we could adopt a Raccoon?
87hunter: Can we expect anything new or exciting from WV?
WV:We are constantly working on new juices so yes, there will definitely be new things from Wiener this year. Some of our older juices will also be retired and be available in One Shot DiY form.
While I have the opportunity I would like to thank each and every single person who has purchased a bottle of Wiener Vape Co. Liquids from our wonderful supporting vendors. Without you we would not be able to do what we love doing every day!!! You guys made it happen and we are eternally grateful and humbled by your support!
You can hop on over to Weiner Vape Co's website http://www.wienervape.co.za to see their full range and also their awesome supporting vedors
I decided to start with WV as when I started vaping three months ago Panama was one of the first Premium e-liquids I bought.
Gerhard comes accross very friendly and as a vaper with a passion for the vape community.
In our brief chat before the questions one quote stood out regarding giving up the stinkies "Some people forget that more than a business, vaping was and still is our passion first, and helping others to quit brings a HUGE smile to my face."
87hunter: Who is Weiner Vape Co? We all know the juice and the clever branding, but who is behind the juice? Tell us a little about yourselves.
WV: I am Gerhard the mixologist and lover of vaping! My hobby is my job. Candace is my wife and now works with me full time as well, she also likes taking photos and walks on the beach.
Jessica and Piet are our Lab assistants and they know everything there is to know about washing bottles and how to apply a label. Petrus runs the retail shop and his passion is re-wicking and vape tricks.
87hunter: How did WV come about?
WV: I quit smoking late 2013 with vaping. It then slowly became an obsession and when I found Ecigssa it became worse. I started experimenting with DIY and before you know it actually started mixing something I could actually vape. Back then recipes were not that easy to come by and most of them you found online were not that great so I just kept on buying new concentrates and testing them myself, then mixing what I thought would taste good. Pretty soon some of my friends started liking some of my creations enough to request that I make some for them... then pretty soon I was mixing every weekend to keep up with the local demand. In 2015 I decided to go full scale and take it serious and that is when I started Wiener Vape Co. Why Wiener? Well we have a furbaby (two now) and he is a wiener. So the name comes from him.
87hunter: In your opinion, which juice put you guys on the map?
WV: We started off with a full line of 5 flavours, back then RY4 was not very popular and our lowest selling liquid was Good Boy. But as people started exploring our range our sales on it kept increasing and increasing. I would say Good Boy is probably our most famous juice in the long run. But our newer juices like Jelly Monster and Panama are also very popular.
87hunter: Speaking of juices, how long does it take to create a new juice from concept to rolling the product out?
WV: Good Boy took about 18 months to get where I wanted it to be... but that was before we had a company and I mixed a batch of it every weekend and changed something every time. Our newer juices still take long but we tend to spend anything form a couple of months to a couple of weeks in development of the profile. Then we start the long steep tests to see how the juice will change over time. Depending on the profile a juice can take up to a year to see the light of day and be a full product.
87hunter: On average, how many revisions do you go through to perfect a new line?
WV: Sometimes many, more than 20 or even 30 revisions. Sometimes you get lucky lol.
87hunter: Taste is subjective, I personally prefer icy fruits over deserts. Do you guys have your own preferences? If so how do you test a line that is not in your particular profile?
WV: Lucky for me I like most profiles, this changes with my mood so generally I will mix or do revisions on the type of juice I am in the mood for at the time. I firstly always mix for my own tastes and if I like the juice enough then only do we send it out to our test group. I only ever release a juice once I can personally vape it for at least a couple of days in a row.
87hunter: The big question we all want to know. What gear do you guys roll with?
WV: Difficult to answer, I am addicted to buying new gear. What I have this week will be different next week. But my go to testing setup is almost always a dotmod 22mm dripper or Goon 22mm.
Candace likes to drip on her ziggs and whatever mod I have passed along to her.
Jessica loves her serpent RDTA on her Minikin or RX Gen3
Piet chases clouds on his Tesla WYE200W and Goon 24
Petrus uses his Tesla Invader 3 and Goon 1.5 for most of the day before he goes home to use his assortment of RDTA's
87hunter: Be honest now, how much juice do you guys each vape in a day?
WV: Too freaking much... I am always testing and I am always forcing the guys to test as well
87hunter: You have just opened a brick and mortar store, how is it going?
WV: We are helping a lot of new customers to quit smoking in our town and it is awesome!!!
87hunter: Racc City was a great addition with quality juices at an affordable price. How has the market reacted to Racc City?
WV: Customers are loving the brand and the juices, the price point makes it a little sweeter! We are getting very good feedback and people are loving the juices.
87hunter: Dogs and Raccoons, what’s the story behind these animals?
WV: We have wiener dogs.... and badly want a raccoon too!!! They are just awesome! So we put them on our labels. Know any place where we could adopt a Raccoon?
87hunter: Can we expect anything new or exciting from WV?
WV:We are constantly working on new juices so yes, there will definitely be new things from Wiener this year. Some of our older juices will also be retired and be available in One Shot DiY form.
While I have the opportunity I would like to thank each and every single person who has purchased a bottle of Wiener Vape Co. Liquids from our wonderful supporting vendors. Without you we would not be able to do what we love doing every day!!! You guys made it happen and we are eternally grateful and humbled by your support!
You can hop on over to Weiner Vape Co's website http://www.wienervape.co.za to see their full range and also their awesome supporting vedors
