Brand story · 2024
A new world of flavour opens at the Hepa station in Tammiste: fresh pastries from a local baker await!
English translation of the original Estonian article. Original headline: Tammiste Hepa tanklas avaneb nüüdsest uus maitsemaailm: kohaliku pagari värsked saiad ootavad!
Have you tried truly fresh pastries baked the same morning at a petrol station café in Estonia? Now you can! The Estonian Hepa petrol station chain has started working with a local baker at its Tammiste station, offering customers a special taste experience in the form of delicious bakery products while also supporting local business.
Using local production is important to the Hepa chain, because as a 100% Estonian and still fairly regional company, it wants to revitalise business outside the main urban centres and emphasise what makes it special.
Large petrol station chains are the same everywhere, but precisely because of its small size, Hepa can create more unique solutions and support the region's development with ideas devoted to the progress of the local area. It also wants to create livelier communication with the community, staying in better contact with both producers and buyers. Cooperation with local entrepreneurs and supporting, preserving and developing business in Hepa's area of operation are important, because those same entrepreneurs are also customers. When there is work and bread (or pastries) for everyone, the whole community can live a happier life.
The local baker's pastries are gaining popularity at the Tammiste station beyond expectations. It is noticeable that customers are already coming specifically for them.
Every Tuesday and every Friday, the Tammiste Hepa station café offers freshly baked treats from the local baker. Tuesday's pastries can still be enjoyed on Wednesday, and those brought on Friday can be savoured on Saturday and Sunday.
On other days, enjoy as usual Eesti Pagar's bakery products fresh from the oven.
"We hit the nail on the head with this product! Customers can tell the difference between a pastry freshly baked the same morning and one baked from frozen. What's more, customers are willing to pay a little more for a fresh local product," says Kaspar Nisu, board member of Hepa OÜ, happily.
Word has spread quickly among customers, and drivers come from further afield for the pastries. It can happen that the pastries baked that day run out by the afternoon. Customers have truly welcomed the local baker's products with open arms. Station staff have also heard that people have even come from other counties to taste the pastries made with care and love by the local baker.
The journey from idea to reality required dedication.
It all started with an idea that carried a deeper principle: there is great strength in cooperation. Hepa wanted to offer fresh products from a local baker while also supporting regional business. It was essential to find a reliable partner from the area whose values matched Hepa's – and that is how the cooperation was born, from a shared wish to offer customers the best. Anyone can come and taste for themselves how freshly made bakery products can surprise in a special, positive way!
When looking for a local baker, the priority was quality, not quantity!
The joy multiplied when clarity finally came: talking to 10 locals was enough to get a unanimous answer about who was best. Based on the positive feedback received, it was decided to start working with Alla Metsmaa, who operates in Sindi under the name Koogiköök OÜ. For Hepa's representatives, the priorities were the taste of the pastries and the feedback of people in the area. After that, the remaining details were agreed.
Local production has several advantages for consumers and for the community in general. The first and most important is freshness! Second, promoting local business. Instead of importing pastries from a large Polish producer and taking money out of Estonia, everyone could first think about how to support regional business. For example, an entrepreneur running a bakery near the station could bake the pastries. Every retailer and consumer can make such choices that support local business.
Hepa has opened a new stage in its business, involving a local producer to offer customers something new and special with their pastries. As the idea has already received a lot of positive feedback, the future will most likely bring changes to the range at other stations too. This is only the beginning, through which Hepa wants to offer a unique shopping experience that sets its stations apart from ordinary petrol stations. The Estonian chain's promise is to keep an open mind, experiment and offer choices that make every visit special and memorable.
"I really hope this is the beginning of more projects like this. Hepa's aim is always to offer a slightly different selection and shopping experience – that's what makes Hepa a boutique petrol station chain," Kaspar Nisu is certain. Hepa's goal is always to develop local business. Involving a local producer in offering bakery products seemed a completely logical step.
Hepa's idea is a noble one – to support local business by involving producers from the region.
Tammiste is also developing as a local settlement, with more and more people from the Pärnu area finding their way there when looking for a home. It is in a beautiful natural setting, safe and quiet, yet conveniently close to the county centre.
The Hepa Tammiste station is a good place to stop, cosy and compact – big enough to ensure all the main station products are available, including fast food, and just small enough for every customer to feel at home. To make customer visits even more convenient, the site also offers:
- Wi-Fi,
- the option to rent a trailer,
- use of a tyre pressure compressor,
- a vacuum cleaner service
Join Hepa's other happy customers and discover how even a small difference can turn the whole shopping experience into a pleasant one. Come to the Tammiste Hepa station café and see for yourself that a quick stop at a petrol station can be as much of a taste experience as a home-cooked meal!
Hepa is a company based on 100% Estonian capital whose main business is operating and developing a chain of petrol stations. Hepa wants to be close to local people and join forces so that residents of smaller areas are also supplied with what they need. The chain has 11 stations in Rapla, Viljandi and Pärnu counties. On the market for over 30 years – a reliable choice.
See you at the Hepa Tammiste station café, where the taste experience offered by local bakery products exceeds expectations! We look forward to you discovering something new!