“Andreu Culleré's father made walnut wine at home and Andreu sold it to friends and acquaintances. Until he entangled his partner, Anna Maria Capdevila, and me so that we could start producing and selling it professionally”, recalls Quim Pérez. The son confused them, and the father taught them how to prepare the walnut wine.
In June 2016 they released the first production. They did it under the Tres Cadires brand, "which are the three chairs that appeared in the first photo we took," explains Pérez. The logo is the drawing of the three chairs, "just as they were and in the position they were in," adds the entrepreneur. "We liked it because it conveys the image of a cooperative," says Pérez.
Tres Cadires is a local development non-profit cooperative that produces liqueurs and vermouths. First it was the walnut wine; in 2019 they created their own pacharán and, two years later, an organic vermouth. They bet on local, ecological raw materials and, in some cases, their own collection. “Our Vermouth Caràcter contains nothing that is not native to Ponent”, says Pérez. They have also launched a packaging return service to reduce waste generation.
They share their Arbeca workshop with other agroecological projects through ObradorsCompartits.cat. It is part of the cooperative DNA of Tres Cadires. The same thing that led them to promote the creation of the Ponent Coopera cooperative university and the Mengem Ponent cooperative. They are also members of the Solidarity Economy Network and the Federation of Labor Cooperatives. On the other hand, they are financed with alternative methods to traditional banking.
In addition to being socially responsible, the result of their work is rewarding. Caràcter, which at the time was the first and only organic vermouth in Catalonia, has won the Vinari de Vermuts Catalans 2022 awards.
They themselves distribute their own products and 10 more references from other brands. Its target market is Catalonia, in line with its commitment to proximity. Last year they invoiced 160,000 euros.
