Best Practice

«Turning Gift Vouchers into Lasting Memories.»

Visitors to Nebu Bar in Zurich quickly realise that it is about much more than just painting ceramics. Founder and Managing Director Seline Burri turned an idea that first emerged during her studies in Copenhagen into a truly unique experience. What began as a pop-up concept soon evolved into a popular destination for creative breaks, team events and memorable moments shared with family, friends and colleagues.

Today, Nebu Bar combines hospitality and creativity in a relaxed and welcoming setting. Guests paint ceramics, enjoy drinks and spend quality time together – with no formal class structure and no prior experience required. In this interview, Seline explains why experience-based concepts are becoming increasingly important, how gift vouchers have supported the company’s growth, and why digital solutions like e-guma make day-to-day operations much easier.

to the voucher shop to the event shop to the interview

nebu bar facts

Interview with Seline Burri, Founder of nebu Bar

Seline, how important are gift vouchers to your business?

«A very important one, to be honest. We actually underestimated their potential in the beginning. It wasn’t until about a year after opening that we started working with e-guma.

Today, we can clearly see how popular our gift vouchers have become. I think many people appreciate being able to give something that’s both creative and easy to enjoy. It’s much more than a restaurant voucher – it’s the gift of quality time and a shared experience. As a result, we sell and redeem a large number of vouchers.

Since introducing e-guma, the entire process has become much simpler, which has made a huge difference for us.»

How did you manage your gift vouchers before?

«In a very traditional, old-school way. We sold physical vouchers on-site and tracked everything in Excel spreadsheets.

Looking back, it was incredibly time-consuming. We constantly had to check records, keep track of everything and make sure nothing was missed. It wasn’t ideal for our accounting either, nor for our fiduciary partner.

Digitalising the entire process was therefore a real game changer. One of the biggest advantages is that customers can now purchase gift vouchers online and business clients can even order them on invoice. Our corporate customers really appreciate this, and for us it has significantly reduced the administrative workload.»

How does the system make your day-to-day work easier?

«The biggest benefit is that so many processes now run automatically and online. In the past, much more had to be handled manually on-site.

Things like refunds, reprinting vouchers or searching for existing vouchers are now incredibly straightforward. Overall, it saves us a tremendous amount of time. It simply no longer feels like extra administrative work.

The system itself is also very intuitive, and whenever we need assistance, we know we can rely on excellent support. We truly value that.»

Do you now sell more gift vouchers online than on-site?

«Absolutely. The vast majority of our voucher sales now happen online. It’s much more convenient for our customers and significantly reduces the amount of work on our side. Another major advantage is that lost vouchers are hardly ever an issue anymore. In the past, that often meant a lengthy search.

Today, we can usually find a voucher simply by searching for the customer’s email address or name. That has saved us on more than one occasion.»

What matters most to you in a gift voucher system?

«For me, simplicity and independence are the key priorities. Redeeming vouchers has to be quick and straightforward. At the same time, it’s important to have reliable support whenever adjustments are needed or questions arise.

Equally important are all the processes running behind the scenes, such as the seamless handling of accounting and fiduciary requirements. That’s where the system saves us an enormous amount of work.»

You’ve also used e-guma’s ticketing solution. What has your experience been like?

«For our regular bookings, our reservation system is often the better fit because it’s directly integrated into our website.

However, for special events we’ve had excellent experiences with e-guma. It’s a very practical solution for workshops and events with fixed prices and limited capacity, making it a valuable addition to our existing systems.»

What do you value most about e-guma?

«Above all, its simplicity. Our team hardly needed any training because the system is largely self-explanatory. It strikes exactly the right balance – it’s neither overly complicated nor overloaded with unnecessary features.

We’ve often seen systems become increasingly complex as more and more functions are added. With e-guma, we feel the focus remains on what really matters.»

How would you describe your collaboration with e-guma?

«It’s been straightforward, reliable and genuinely fair. My business partner and I really value working with e-guma. We’ve used a variety of different systems over the years, so we’ve experienced quite the opposite as well. That’s why we especially appreciate how pleasant and responsive the support team is.

Whenever we need help, we always reach a real person who provides quick, practical solutions. You can tell that they genuinely take the time to help. There are no generic automated replies – only real answers. That’s something you don’t take for granted these days. To be honest, I hope this personal support is never replaced by AI.»

Who would you recommend e-guma to?

«First and foremost, I’d recommend it to businesses in the hospitality industry. But really, it’s a great solution for any company looking for a professional gift voucher or ticketing system. Whenever someone asks me for a recommendation, I’m happy to suggest e-guma because we’ve had such positive experiences ourselves.»

Has anything particularly surprised you since introducing the system?

«What continues to fascinate me is the role gift vouchers play. Many are purchased as birthday, Christmas or farewell gifts. We often see this through the personal messages customers include with their orders.

Without online sales, we probably wouldn’t reach many of these customers at all. They’re looking for a thoughtful gift that can be purchased quickly and easily – and that’s exactly what our vouchers offer.

When we introduced the system shortly before Christmas and experienced our first festive season, I remember thinking, ‘I only wish we had done this sooner.’ For us, it was a real game changer.

And something wonderful happens time and again: people experience Nebu Bar themselves and later return to give that same experience to someone else. They realise it’s not just another ordinary gift. It’s about spending quality time together, creating something unique and taking home a lasting reminder of the experience. That’s what makes our gift vouchers so special.»

The Nebu Bar Success Story

Your concept combines ceramic painting with hospitality. What makes it so special?

«We’ve deliberately combined ceramic painting with hospitality because we wanted to bring together the very best of both worlds. We put just as much care into our food and drinks as we do into the creative experience itself.

At the same time, we don’t see ourselves as a traditional studio. Guests receive a short introduction and then simply enjoy spending time with friends, family or colleagues. We want everything to feel relaxed, easy-going and informal. It shouldn’t feel like attending a class, but rather like enjoying a cosy experience where creativity happens naturally.

This philosophy is reflected in every detail. For example, we serve our guests at the table just as you would in any restaurant. We also decided to ship all finished ceramic pieces directly to our guests’ homes instead of asking them to collect them a few weeks later. After all, who has the time to come back just to pick up their pottery?»

How are your guests different from those of a traditional restaurant?

«To be honest, I don’t think they’re fundamentally different at all. Just like restaurant guests, they come to spend time with friends, family or colleagues while enjoying food and drinks together.

The difference is that ceramic painting extends the experience. Instead of leaving after the meal, people stay longer, get creative and spend more meaningful time together. Conversations develop naturally, guests inspire one another, and in the end they take home something they created themselves – a lasting reminder of the time they shared.»

Does this create a different relationship with your guests?

«Yes, I believe it does. Of course, we don’t see the same frequency of visits as a restaurant where guests might stop by several times a week for lunch. That’s why it’s especially important that people feel welcome, enjoy their visit, come back and recommend us to others.

That personal connection plays a very important role for us, and fortunately it’s one of our strengths.»

How important is the emotional aspect?

«It’s incredibly important. Many guests leave with a hand-painted mug or plate that they’ll continue using for years. Every time they use it, they’re reminded of the experience they had here.

At the same time, Nebu Bar has become a popular activity for rainy days or special occasions. It’s similar to visiting a museum or going to the cinema – except that you leave with something personal that you’ve created yourself.»

You also offer a range of special events. How important is this part of your business?

«We’re constantly developing new experiences. At the moment, for example, we offer formats such as Mother & Daughter and Coffee & Ceramics.

Interestingly, many of these ideas emerged while redesigning our website and improving our SEO. We realised that these events are not only attractive to our guests but also help increase our online visibility. Naturally, they also have a positive impact on ticket sales.»

What advice would you give to other hospitality businesses that want to create experience-based offers?

«I think the key is to focus on one idea and do it exceptionally well. Today, people are looking for experiences. That doesn’t have to mean ceramic painting – it could just as easily be a unique culinary concept or another creative idea.

The greatest strength of these kinds of experiences is that they bring people together. We see enormous potential, especially for team events. We can host groups of up to 50 people, and in some cases we even bring the experience directly to our clients’ premises.»

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