Die Höhle der Löwen Switzerland: Episode 5/5 - Tradition meets innovation

But the 5th episode of "Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz" started with "Ayma". With her brand Ayma, Fabienne Kälin from Schneisingen (AG) turns the conventional idea that "if you want to be beautiful, you have to suffer" on its head and presents innovative tights that not only look beautiful, but also think about the wearer's well-being. Ayma stands for sustainability and comfort. A unique innovation is the integrated sock section, which not only provides additional comfort, but also offers odor control to prevent unpleasant smells in the foot area. No annoying labels on the waistband of the tights, because Ayma dispenses with unnecessary details, says the founder. All tights are also supplied in recycled bags that can be used in a variety of ways - whether as protection in the washing machine, when traveling or in the wardrobe to protect the stockings from damage.

Ayma offers a choice of seven different models to suit different needs. The 36 denier Heritage stocking is the first stocking with an integrated sock section and odor control. The 80 denier stocking is slightly thicker and ideal for high boots and boots. The Aviator stocking has a special massage function and is even appreciated by Swiss International Airlines flight attendants. The Brasil stocking adapts to different skin tones and is suitable for different types of women. The stitch-resistant stocking offers long-lasting quality and the last stocking scores with a popular pattern. Ayma offers tights in sizes S, M and L, and some styles are even available in XL and XXL to ensure that all women can find the perfect fit.

The company Ayma is striving to show women in Switzerland that it has found the solution to pantyhose problems. By offering 4% company shares for 80,000 Swiss francs, Ayma aims to increase brand awareness and engagement. The visionary behind Ayma, Fabienne Kälin, has a background in marketing communications and had a formal dress code in her professional environment. In search of greater comfort, she decided to solve the problem herself and is now working full-time on her mission. This season, the first real one for the young company, 900 stockings were sold. The price range for the tights is between 39.90 and 49 francs, with production costs of around 12 francs depending on the model. The target for the coming year is a turnover of around 64,000 Swiss francs. Ayma has already managed to enter nine different stores in the last two months. Although Roland Brack is exiting as an investor, he is interested in adding the tights to his range in order to contribute to the company's growth.

Unfortunately, Ayma was unable to secure an investment on this occasion, but the idea and potential remain promising. Fabienne will continue to work hard to establish her unique tights on the market.

Unique and environmentally friendly, is there a deal?

"Eat Unique - delivery service" - The founders of Eat Unique, Sacha Burger and Tobias Burger from Aesch (BL), impressed the lions and lionesses with their innovative idea and ultimately concluded a successful deal.

The idea behind Eat Unique is as simple as it is ingenious: fresh, healthy and delicious meals that are delivered quickly and conveniently. The Eat Unique team recognized the challenge of how to eat healthily in a hectic everyday life without wasting a lot of time. Their answer to this problem is their delivery service, which aims to integrate healthy eating into the everyday lives of the Swiss population. Customers have the option of ordering 4, 6, 8 or 12 dishes a week, which are ready to serve in less than 3 minutes. The company delivers throughout Switzerland and focuses on fresh, regional products without preservatives or additives. Customers can choose between meat, fish and vegan menus, which offer both low carb and high protein options. Lactose-free and gluten-free options are also available.

Eat Unique started in May 2021 and has achieved impressive success in recent months, including record sales of almost 60,000 Swiss francs. To accelerate growth, the founders looked for a strong partner and presented their idea to the lions and lionesses. The investors were not only impressed by the business idea, but also by the taste of the food. They recognized the potential of Eat Unique and offered various deals. In the end, Roland Brack and Nicole Büttner Thiel opted for an offer of 350,000 Swiss francs for 20% shares. Lukas Speiser and Jürg Schwarzenbach also joined forces and offered the same amount for 20%. The founders made a counter offer, offering 17.5% company shares for 350,000 Swiss francs or 20% for 400,000 Swiss francs. In the end, Nicole Büttner and Roland Brack opted for the first offer of 17.5% company shares for 350,000 Swiss francs, and the deal was sealed.

Eat Unique can now count on the support of its new investors to further expand the company and establish its unique range of healthy and delicious meals in Switzerland.

"Capt'n Greenfin AG - Fishing bait" - Jonas Urwyler, founder and CEO of Capt'n Greenfin AG from Bern, appeared before the lions and lionesses to present his environmentally friendly fishing bait and to seek investment for his company. His idea? An environmentally conscious fishing experience without plastic bait. But are the lions and lionesses really "anglers of good deals", as Felix Bertram says?

In any case, company founder Jonas is firmly convinced that Capt'n Greenfin will change the future of the fishing industry by gradually revolutionizing every type of bait in a sustainable way. There are around 150,000 patented fishermen in Switzerland, each of whom uses an average of 10 plastic baits. This amounts to an incredible 15 tons of plastic waste per year in Switzerland alone. The target market for Capt'n Greenfin is the whole of Europe, where there are over 13 million fishermen who regularly use artificial lures. This means that over 1300 tons of plastic end up in the water every year. Capt'n Greenfin's solution is to offer environmentally conscious fishermen the first true plastic-free alternative to traditional lures. With this ambitious goal in mind - to reach a turnover of around 12 million Swiss francs by 2027 - they are looking for an investment of 300,000 francs and are offering 10% of their company. Jonas told the lions and lionesses that the idea came about two years ago when he wanted to buy sustainable bait for himself and realized that there was no one in the world offering plastic-free alternatives. He decided to tackle this problem and started his company. Capt'n Greenfin lures are mainly used in freshwater and are available in Switzerland at a price of 12.90 francs per pack. There are packs of 8 larger lures or 15 smaller lures.

Although Jonas works full-time in his company and has already enjoyed success in start-up competitions, investor Felix Bertram decided to pull out of the deal. Jürg Schwarzenbach offered an investment of 300,000 Swiss francs for 20% of the company's shares. However, the founder of Capt'n Greenfin made a counteroffer of 12% of the company share, which Jürg Schwarzenbach did not accept. In the end, there was no deal, but Jonas is determined to continue working on his vision of environmentally friendly fishing without plastic bait and to establish the company as a strong brand in the coming years.

"Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz" - from cosmetics studio to concert hall

"Ana Kosmetik Switzerland - Cosmetics line" - Ana Krnjic, the founder of Ana Kosmetik Switzerland from Abtwil (SG), presented her cosmetics line to the lions and lionesses, which is characterized by the fusion of Mediterranean medicine and Swiss high-tech.

Ana Kosmetik products promise to visibly minimize wrinkles in just 30 minutes - pain-free, 100% natural and healthy for the skin. Ana has set itself the goal of slowing down the skin ageing process, relying on the power of purely plant-based ingredients. Grapes and olives, which are the main ingredients in her products, are particularly noteworthy. Grapes are considered the most powerful natural anti-ageing ingredients, while olive leaves are known for their exceptional skin-healing properties. Ana describes herself and her products as a fusion of Mediterranean culture and Swiss know-how. All products are made locally in Switzerland and contain only high quality, exclusive European ingredients of natural origin.

She offered the lions and lionesses 10% of her company share for an investment of 90,000 Swiss francs. When asked by Bettina Hein how she went from being a food scientist to a beautician, Ana explained that she had completed her training in naturopathy in Switzerland and was firmly convinced that what is good for the body from the inside can also be brought to the outside. Her own sensitive skin problems motivated her to develop her own cosmetics line.

Felix Bertram asked for scientific evidence of the rapid effect of her products, and Ana referred to studies by active ingredient manufacturers who claim that the first results are visible after just 15 to 30 minutes. The Ana Kosmetik Switzerland line comprises four products: Serum, eye cream, day cream and night care. The products are not only suitable for women, but men can also use them after shaving to prevent acne. The products are priced between 40.90 and 57.90 francs. Although the company has only been on the market for a year, it has already recorded sales of 20,000 francs, with sales of 2,000 francs in January, but this had increased by November.

Tobias Reichmuth suggested that Ana should use the investment money to strengthen her marketing team in order to increase brand awareness, as he felt that sales were still too low. However, he decided against an investment. Roland Brack suggested concentrating on the further development of a single product, as the market was large enough for this. Dermatologist Felix Bertram was impressed, but believed that additional expertise was required. In the end, there was no deal, but Ana Krnjic will continue to work on establishing her cosmetics line on the market and promoting her vision of healthy and effective skincare.

"Matchspace Music - Music lessons" - In this musical episode of the Lion's Den, Patrick Koller, Olivier Kipfer, Pablo Räss and Vanessa-Naomi Moella from Zurich presented their new "music school" Matchspace Music. Patrick is the founder and managing director, and the company was looking for an investment of 500,000 Swiss francs for 5% shares.

The Matchspace Music team recognized that many adults have the desire to learn a musical instrument or sing, but do not do so for various reasons. The main problem lies in the lack of flexibility in the offerings for adults in traditional music schools. To solve this problem, Matchspace Music has created an impressively diverse offering, with almost 700 qualified teachers and around 80 instruments available. This variety allows students to enjoy maximum flexibility and choice in their music lessons. Lessons can take place either at the student's home, in the teacher's studio or online.

The company has partnered with the six largest health insurance companies, allowing students to benefit from attractive discounts while promoting their mental health. In addition, Matchspace Music offers instrument rental and purchase services to make it easier for students to access the instruments they need. Matchspace Music's platform handles all bookings, payments and lesson management, taking the burden off teachers and allowing them to focus more on teaching.

Matchspace Music's vision is to make music accessible to all, and they have already made impressive progress. Launched three years ago, they introduced their first services in December 2020 with 50 qualified teachers. The lions and lionesses were impressed and wanted to know more. Felix Bertram asked how many "matches" had been arranged between teachers and pupils since then. Patrick explained that they had sold 750 lessons in January alone. Students can choose between different packages and subscriptions after the first match.

The current company value is 8 million francs and they are planning a capital increase of 2 million francs, of which 30% has already been secured. The market size is impressive, with a global music market worth 26 billion Swiss francs, which is growing by 2.2% annually. Matchspace Music's target group ranges from 4 to 87 years of age. Nicole Büttner showed interest in online lessons, Matchspace Music has chosen the approach of offering both online and offline lessons. Lukas Speiser found the concept exciting, but ultimately decided against investing. Unfortunately, in the end there was no deal from the lions and lionesses for Matchspace Music. Nevertheless, they will continue to work on revolutionizing the world of music lessons and promoting the joy of making music.

Redefining the rules of food waste management

"KITRO - Food waste measurement" - In this fifth episode of "Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz", Anastasia Hofmann and Naomi MacKenzie from Zurich presented their solution Kitro, which focuses on the automatic measurement and analysis of food waste in the catering industry. The two founders were looking for an investment of 200,000 Swiss francs for 2.3% of company shares.

Anastasia and Naomi founded the company in 2017 and have since gathered a team of 14 dedicated experts around them. Their motivation for developing Kitro came from their many years of experience in the food service industry, where they realized that food waste is a widespread problem. In fact, a third of all food produced worldwide is wasted, which not only has a negative impact on the environment, but also causes significant economic costs.

To tackle this problem, the founders of Kitro developed a product that uses artificial intelligence to enable the automatic measurement and analysis of food waste in the catering industry. Over 140 of these devices have already been installed in Switzerland and abroad, and customers range from large hotel groups to luxury hotels, canteens, hospitals and universities.

The way Kitro works is impressively simple: the data from the waste garbage cans is transferred directly from the scales to the software, which then recognizes which food has been wasted. Customers can see exactly how much and what type of food they are wasting on their dashboard. Based on this data, they can optimize their work processes, reduce food waste and thus save costs.

The company has set itself the goal of making its contribution to halving food waste by 2030. With the support of an investment of 200,000 Swiss francs for 2.3% of company shares, they were able to plan to further expand their reach and influence. So far, they have raised over 5.5 million francs in capital. The company's turnover last year was 470,000 francs and they are aiming for 1.2 million this year. Customers are signing contracts and the longest contract they have signed so far is for 8 years. The lions and lionesses showed great interest in Kitro.

Kitro offers customers the opportunity to reduce food waste by adapting their production, be it by avoiding overproduction, reducing menu portions or adjusting portion sizes. Its focus is on businesses that serve more than 100 meals a day. The lions and lionesses made an offer: 300,000 francs for 4% of the company. Kitro was delighted to accept this offer and will continue on its path of reducing food waste while helping catering businesses to work more efficiently and sustainably.

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