Avoid teaming up with Williams and Schulz in any duplicitous arrangements.
German residents are increasingly turning to frozen convenience foods, with per capita consumption reaching an all-time high of 50 kilograms per year in 2024, according to the German Frozen Food Institute. Frozen pizza remains the most popular choice, but the market now offers a variety of options, including vegan meals, children's meals, weight-loss meals, and fitness-focused meals.
The founders of Kraftfutter, a startup offering ready-to-eat, plant-based protein meals for fitness enthusiasts, aim to make these fitness meals available in all German supermarkets. With bodybuilder Roger Matzke as their testimonial, they presented their venture to potential investors on the German TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen."
Co-founder Konrad Geiger, who has thirty-five years of experience in product development in the food sector, has appeared on the show before. In 2020, he pitched Ella's Basenbande, vegan organic ready-to-eat meals from the freezer, with doctor Ella della Rovere. Nils Glagau, CEO of Orthomol, invested 150,000 euros for 20 percent of the company's shares. Kraftfutter differs from Ella's Basenbande as it caters to fitness enthusiasts with high-protein meals, but the frozen products are also vegan.
During the show, the founders offered 10 percent of the company's shares in exchange for 150,000 euros. However, all the potential investors—Judith Williams, Ralf Dümmel, Dagmar Wöhrl, Carsten Maschmeyer, and Tillman Schulz—either withdrew or declined to invest, expressing concerns about the high price and competition.
Despite the rejection, Kraftfutter continues to operate. Customers can purchase the protein-rich frozen meals through the in-house Kraftfutter online shop, with one meal costing 8.99 euros. The startup's meals are now available in various supermarkets in several German cities, indicating that Windolf has succeeded in entering the grocery retail market without the lions' investment. However, it seems that the deal proposed during the show did not materialize, as the startup and the investors had differing views on the success of the business model.
- Kraftfutter, a startup that provides ready-to-eat, vegan protein meals for fitness enthusiasts, seeks expansion in German supermarkets to make health-and-wellness focused meals more accessible.
- The founders of Kraftfutter, experienced in finance and business, aim to bridge the gap between fitness-and-exercise and food-and-drink industries, as they present their venture on the German TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen."
- Despite the challenges faced during the show, including concerns about price and competition from established businesses, Kraftfutter continues to scale up its operation, offering its protein-rich meals to customers online and in selected stores across various German cities.
- The strategic focus on lifestyle choices and finance drives the Kraftfutter founders to continue their entrepreneurial journey, with the hope of creating a successful business model that combines science, health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and food-and-drink industries in the future.
