Stardrinks

What Stardrinks does

Stardrinks AG is a Swiss beverage distributor headquartered at Obergrundstrasse 110 in Lucerne, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HEINEKEN Switzerland AG. The company procures, warehouses, and delivers a 5,000+ SKU beverage assortment — including 78 beer brands (Swiss labels such as Eichhof, Calanda, Haldengut, Ittinger, Ziegelhof alongside the Heineken international portfolio), 750+ wines via subsidiary Kellerei St. Georg, and a full spirits, soft drink, juice, mineral water, and syrup range — to restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, and catering operators across Switzerland. Distribution runs through 15 customer-near depot locations spanning every major Swiss region (Romandie, Ticino, Graubünden, Zurich, Basel, Central Switzerland, Valais, Jura) using an owned logistics fleet, with cellar-delivery service, planned Monday–Friday routes, and surcharged same-day express plus Saturday/Sunday on-call delivery.

The business model is fundamentally transactional B2B distribution. Pricing is denominated in CHF, excluding VAT, recycling fees, and container deposits, with a CHF 12 per-pallet deposit, CHF 50 same-day/next-day express surcharge, CHF 100 flat-fee weekend on-call delivery (or CHF 50 for depot self-pickup), and a CHF 30 empty-container pickup fee. Volume-based discount tiers require a minimum CHF 10,000 annual spend and are calculated annually on prior-year purchase volume, switching-incentivizing customer concentration with a single supplier. Go-to-market relies on a 50+ person external field-sales force providing on-site consulting, augmented by a multilingual (German, French, Italian) customer service center taking orders by phone, fax, and email, and by the eazle.ch web and smartphone ordering platform for 24/7 self-service. Adjacent revenue lines include draft-beer dispense-equipment sales/rental (BLADE, David, Python, CFT Heigenie systems) and event equipment rental (mobile bars, refrigerated trailers, taps, serving furniture).

Operations are run by 500+ employees across the Swiss network. The company is privately held under Heineken Group ownership with no public listing, no disclosed funding rounds, and no private equity or venture sponsor in the cap table. Stated guarantees include a minimum 3-month shelf life from delivery date on all products. Strategic positioning centers on breadth and depth of assortment, personalized in-person service, reliable cellar-delivery, transparent pricing, and wine expertise — a positioning that depends on the physical depot-and-fleet footprint and on the long-standing exclusive producer relationships held by the Kellerei St. Georg sub-brand rather than on proprietary technology.

Name

Stardrinks

Legal name

Stardrinks AG

Website

https://stardrinks.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stardrinks AG is a Swiss beverage distributor serving restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, and caterers with a 5,000+ SKU assortment across 15 nationwide depots and a 50+ person field-sales force, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HEINEKEN Switzerland AG.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beverage Distribution & Wholesale

NAICS

Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers (424810)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Beer, Wine & Spirits Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAIAA)

Keywords

• Beverage distribution
• HoReCa supply
• Wine and beer wholesale
• Gastronomy procurement
• Draft beer equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Lucerne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Beverage Product Sales: Stardrinks generates revenue by selling a wide assortment of beverages (beers, wines, spirits, soft drinks, mineral water, juices, etc.) to gastronomy professionals. Prices are listed in CHF, excluding VAT, recycling fees, and container deposits. Volume-based bonuses and discounts are provided based on annual purchase volume, with a minimum spend of CHF 10,000 to qualify.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Stardrinks sells and distributes a comprehensive assortment of over 5,000 beverages — including 78 beer brands, more than 750 wines via the Kellerei St. Georg division, spirits, liqueurs, and non-alcoholic drinks — directly to gastronomy and hospitality businesses across Switzerland, with cellar-level delivery, field-sales consulting, and volume-based pricing structured around an annual minimum spend of CHF 10,000.

Product overview

Stardrinks is a comprehensive beverage distribution company serving gastronomy professionals and hospitality businesses throughout Switzerland. The company operates a full-range portfolio platform offering over 5,000 products, encompassing Swiss beer brands (Eichhof, Calanda, Haldengut, Ittinger, Ziegelhof), international beers (Heineken, Birra Moretti, Desperados), the Kellerei St. Georg wine portfolio with 750+ wines, spirits and liqueurs, and non-alcoholic beverages. The service is supported by the eazle online ordering platform, draft beer equipment rental systems (BLADE, David, Python, CFT Heigenie), and event equipment rental services. Stardrinks operates as a subsidiary of HEINEKEN Switzerland AG.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kellerei St. Georg: Wine import and distribution specialist for gastronomy, offering over 750 wines from worldwide wine regions including Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, and Chile. Specializes in wines for HoReCa sector.

Products and services

• Stardrinks Beverage Distribution Service Comprehensive beverage procurement and distribution service offering over 5,000 products (beers, wines, spirits, liqueurs, soft drinks, mineral water, juices, energy drinks) with cellar-level delivery to restaurants, bars, hotels, and event organizers across Switzerland via 15 regional depots.
• Kellerei St. Georg Wine Portfolio Curated wine selection of 750+ white, red, sparkling and dessert wines from all major global wine-producing regions, with exclusive Swiss-market partnerships with producers from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, and Chile, targeted at hotels and fine-dining wine programs.
• eazle Online Ordering Platform Web-based and mobile ordering platform for 24/7 beverage ordering by hospitality customers, providing access to the full product assortment without requiring a sales contact.
• Draft Beer Equipment Systems Draft beer dispensing equipment for gastronomy customers, including BLADE 8-liter countertop units, David Classic and David XL green systems, Standard back Python, and CFT Heigenie units.
• Event Equipment Rental Rental service for event equipment including mobile bars, refrigerated trailers, portable beer taps, tents, refrigerators, and serving furniture, paired with beverage delivery for gastronomy events, festivals, weddings, and corporate functions.
• Stardrinks Assortment Catalog 2025-26 Annual printed product catalog covering the full beverage portfolio available for ordering, featuring over 5,000 products and 78 beer brands across beer, wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic categories.

Quantifiable outcome

• Products delivered with minimum 3-month shelf life from delivery date
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HEINEKEN Switzerland AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Stardrinks AG is a Swiss company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the HEINEKEN Group. HEINEKEN Switzerland AG is the parent company and data controller for the Stardrinks website. Stardrinks benefits from HEINEKEN's broad beer portfolio and beer expertise, and Stardrinks' employees operate within an international corporate environment.
• Kellerei St. GeorgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1950Kellerei St. Georg is Stardrinks' wine specialist, with over 60 years of experience and expertise in wines for gastronomy and hospitality. It offers over 750 white, red, sparkling, and dessert wines from all major wine-producing regions of the world. Renowned producers from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, and Chile trust Kellerei St. Georg as their exclusive partner for the Swiss market.
• Various International Wine ProducersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRenowned producers, well-known winemakers, and emerging producers from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, and Chile have established long-standing, close relationships with Kellerei St. Georg as their exclusive partner for the Swiss market. Stardrinks customers benefit from these exclusive relationships.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Pernod Ricard:
• Transgourmet Schweiz AG: Swiss foodservice wholesaler (Coop Group subsidiary) supplying restaurants, hotels, and catering with food and beverage products. Comparable as an adjacent channel partner and potential substitute supplier for HoReCa customers, though broader in food than Stardrinks' beverage focus.

Broad incumbents

• HEINEKEN N.V. Global brewing leader and parent company of HEINEKEN Switzerland AG, which owns Stardrinks. Provides the international beer portfolio backbone that Stardrinks distributes; comparable as a broad incumbent setting competitive context in Swiss on-trade beer.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev): World's largest brewer (Stella Artois, Corona, Budweiser) with established Swiss distribution via partner breweries. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing in Swiss on-trade through multi-brand portfolio distribution to HoReCa.
• Diageo plc: Global spirits leader (Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Tanqueray) with significant Swiss on-trade presence and direct relationships with HoReCa accounts. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose premium spirits portfolio competes with Stardrinks' spirits assortment in hotels and bars.
• Carlsberg Group: Global brewer and owner of Feldschlösschen — Stardrinks' largest Swiss competitor. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose Swiss subsidiary competes head-to-head with Stardrinks across on-trade beer and beverage distribution.

Direct peers

• Getränke Rüegg AG: Established Swiss beverage wholesaler distributing beers, wines, spirits, and soft drinks to gastronomy and retail. Direct peer in the Swiss HoReCa B2B beverage distribution market, with comparable assortment breadth and customer base.
• Schuler St. Jakob AG: Swiss beverage producer and wholesaler combining brewing (St. Jakob) with broad wine and spirits distribution to gastronomy. Closely comparable to Stardrinks in business model, HoReCa customer focus, and multi-product distribution across Switzerland.
• Brauerei Locher AG: Swiss regional brewery and beverage producer (Appenzeller Bier) with on-trade sales focus. Comparable to Stardrinks as a Swiss brewer/distributor serving gastronomy, though smaller in geographic reach and assortment breadth.
• Feldschlösschen Getränke AG: Switzerland's largest brewery and beverage distributor (Carlsberg Group subsidiary), serving HoReCa customers nationwide with a broad beer and beverage portfolio. Direct competitor to Stardrinks across both wholesale distribution and on-trade beer categories in Switzerland.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stardrinks