From traveler to risolier.
Young entrepreneurs Stefan Fak and Lotao
Stefan Fak, born in Vienna in 1972, joined the leading Austrian mobile phone operator after successfully studying economics and spent an instructive year in the information technology department there. It was his enthusiasm and desire to create that motivated him to accept a position in the area of organizational development with the rector of the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
“In the Mekong Delta, I understood that tremendous wealth resides in this tiny grain. “I was fascinated when I learned that there are 120,000 species of this life-giving plant,” says Stefan Fak. “I wanted to find the rarest ones, decipher their secrets and make them accessible to connoisseurs in Europe,” the founder continued.
A young Vietnamese woman was the first to share her wealth of knowledge with him. This experience and knowledge paved the way to becoming a “risolier”, because from then on Stefan Fak learned everything about rice. He spoke with rice farmers, with cooks at the simple cooking stations of Asian street markets as well as with top chefs from renowned companies. He tried out recipes, explored flavors and scents and finally found the first rice specialties with which he wanted to enrich the European market. Even in this phase, the young entrepreneur realized that “his” rice varieties had to be more than just a food. Each was followed by stories, even myths, of their region. All this knowledge, mixed with insatiable enthusiasm for the small grain, condensed into Lotao.
Lotao means “gold of the people” - for Stefan Fak an expression of “the fact that we must develop awareness of the origin and quality of what nourishes us and that we should care for and preserve our resources in gratitude.” It is therefore important for the Lotao founder to purchase his rice through fair trade, to select ecologically sustainable products and thus to contribute to a better way of dealing with the world.
On www.lotao.com he invites those for whom pleasure is always the pursuit of something special to share this treasure with him and he lets them take part in his search for further forgotten secrets of this wonderful plant. “I would like to invite rice lovers and those who want to become rice lovers to my journey, which actually only began with the founding of Lotao,” said the founder. With the expert blog “Der Risolier”, Stefan Fak also offers a forum for the exchange of topics relating to the Wunderkorn.
About Lotao (www.lotao.com)
The Austrian Stefan Fak (38) founded Lotao GmbH in Berlin in 2010. Lotao brings exquisite Asian rice varieties to the German-speaking market and wants to convey its own attitude to life through the stories associated with it.Lotao's high-quality products are in the delicatessen segment and are primarily aimed at discerning connoisseurs who care about the quality and origin of food. Lotao products are available via the online shop (www.lotao.com) and selected delicatessen retailers (including Käfer Munich, KaDa We and Galeries Lafayette Berlin, Oschätzen Hamburg).
By refining them with perfectors and elixirs, Lotao's rice specialties spark new culinary experiences. Perfectioners develop in the rice when added shortly before serving. The loose structure of the rice is retained and is refined by the bouquet of the spicy mixtures. Elixirs are rice oil-based compositions that give the finished rice a smooth consistency and a stimulating shine. They are enriched with selected notes and give the rice a fragrant fullness.
If you would like an interview or would like further information and images, please contact the press office. You can find out more about the products and the company philosophy at www.lotao.com .
Press contact: Contact Lotao:
Press office Lotao Lotao GmbH
c/o Katja Weinhold Stefan Fak
Tel.: +49 (0)30 397 944 06 Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 9
10178 Berlin
Email: presse@lotao.com Email: stefan.fak@lotao.com
www.lotao.com www.lotao.com
