Premium-Cola

Since 2008, the Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe (Weißenohe monastry brewery) produces a Pilsner beer as a collective member of Premium, whose recipe is available under a Creative Commons license on the collective's website.

In 2013, 1,088,086 bottles were sold and a revenue of €475,000 was achieved. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Premium-Cola generated annual revenue of €700,000. Of this, 56 percent was generated by cola, 30 percent by beer, six percent by consulting contracts and the rest by lemonades. In 2025, revenue was around €420,000.

In addition to its alternative organizational structure, Premium Cola also differs from other traditional companies, as well as other collective enterprises, in terms of further business model innovations. One example is the anti-volume discount: no volume discounts are given; on the contrary, smaller delivery amounts from mostly smaller retailers are supported in terms of price.

In its corporate communications, Premium Cola generally does not use commercial advertising or the sales tools commonly used in the beverage industry, such as branded refrigerators or free goods. Nevertheless, it does promote itself and its products: interviews with organisers and information about products and the business model can be found on the Premium website. The distance travelled by transport is short, and only ingredients from organic farming are used. External financing is to be avoided entirely