Get to know Jostein Ausland from Fun Fuel!
As one of the three founders of Fun Fuel, Jostein Ausland appreciates a glass of good wine. This interest has led him to a sommelier education, and taken him to several countries around the world looking for new wine experiences.
«At one point I found that I thought wine was a very exciting topic, and I wanted to learn more about it within a structured framework," Jostein explains.
Competence behind the interest
With a goal of increasing his academic competence, Jostein completed his sommelier education in 2016, and became WSET3 certified in the summer of 2021. His next project is to complete the WSET Diploma certification in the near future. This formal competence has been of great value in the process of becoming an established wine importer, a dream he has had for a long time.
«We have talked about it for years, but never found the right time to start the project. After we came back from Australia in the beginning of the corona period, and had just met our current partner, we started looking into it more seriously," Jostein says.
Becoming an established wine importer is easier said than done. This lengthy process made it particularly beneficial that Jostein wrote his paper on wine import, with a focus on small wine importers, when completing his wine education.
«I therefore had a good overview of what had to be done, which is much of the reason why everything went as smoothly as it did," Jostein details.
The road ahead for Fun Fuel
With almost two years passing since Fun Fuel was established, Jostein says that his time as a wine importer so far has given him and the rest of the team many experiences, good memories and thought about what the future might look like.
«We often talk about expanding our selection, and we are actively looking for both new suppliers and customers that we think would be a good match. For example, today I had a meeting with an exciting potential customers, that would be interested in both selling our wine and having us deliver courses," Jostein says.
A positive development
Considering how the three founders of Fun Fuel all have other jobs, projects and commitments, Jostein says that one of their biggest challenges is to balance their time. However, the biggest challenge might be the corona situation and all the challenges it has brought.
«We are very satisfied with the development of the company and our sales, especially considering the time we got started in. The pandemic has given us many unique challenges to overcome, so we have been particularly affected in that way," Jostein details.
Furthermore, Jostein thinks his time as a wine importer so far has been very exciting, and he has many good memories from the process of establishing Fun Fuel. There is one memory in particular he remembers very well.
«Being able to go on to the Vinmonopolet website after a steep learning process, and finally see our wines there as they had been published for sale, was a really good feeling," Jostein says.