Spicy Revolution
Kraft Heinz has bought Just Spices. Under the wing of the US food company, the Düsseldorf-based spice mix start-up wants to grow further into a global brand, particularly internationally. The company's founders remain on board.
Ole Strohschnieder is a vegetarian, Florian Falk hates spicy food, Béla Seebach eats everything and all three are passionate about cooking. An evening of cooking together in a student flat-share became a spice revolution, and the online spice manufacturer “Just Spices” for hobby chefs and cooking professionals became one of the most successful German start-ups.
Within a few years, the trio has shaken up the market and made millions in sales with spice blends. Wheth-er “Pasta Allrounder” and “Spicy Set”, “Avocado Topping” and “Coffee Kiss” or “Scrambled Egg Spice” and “Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Spice” - since 2014, Just Spices has been bringing a brand new spice to life in the kitchen. Back then, they went on a world tour to develop the first authentic blends with locals in India, the USA, Italy and Mexico. Today, their images form part of the company’s distinctive packaging design.
In the beginning, the three friends filled, packed and shipped each colourful spice blend by hand. By now, the aim is to grow even further internationally and to further consolidate their market position as innovation leaders in the spice market. For this reason, the founders have brought one of the largest food producers in the world on board: Kraft Heinz. Now it's time to move from Düsseldorf to Chicago: the manufacturer of ketchup, cheese and coffee with disclosed annual sales of 23 billion euros now owns 85 percent of all shares, which it took over from the previous investors (Five Season Ventures, Bitburger Ventures, Döhler Ventures and Trivago founder Rolf Schrömgens). The remaining company shares continue to be held by the founders Ole Strohschnieder, Béla Seebach and Florian Falk. They want to continue to run the company independently.
How did the deal come about? “Regardless of wheth-er it was at the beginning in my mother's basement, after our trip around the world or when we started out in retail, we have always brought the right partners, angel investors and VCs (venture capitalists) on board on our journey. Every start-up eventually comes to the point where you have to decide: Where do we go from here? For us, it is now time to further realise our vision with Kraft Heinz as a strategic partner and to become a successful global brand together. Therefore, this step was the next logical step and we are incredibly excited about it,” explains CEO Florian Falk. He emphasises that he will continue to run Just Spices as an independent company together with Ole and Béla.
“Every Start-up eventually comes to the point where you have to decide: Where do we go from here?”
Die Just Spices-Gründer: Florian Falk, Ole Strohschnieder und Béla Seebach (v.l.n.r.)
COO Béla Seebach adds: “In addition, with Kraft Heinz we have one of the largest food producers in the world at our side, which supports us with its strong sales power and international expertise on our further growth course. The strategic cooperation is an important step forward.”
Currently, the Düsseldorf-based company has more than 170 spice melanges, salad dressings, in-minutes mixes and other products on offer, generating annual sales of around 60 million euros. The start-up sells about 70 per cent of its products directly to consumers, with the rest distributed through brick-and-mortar and online grocery stores in Germany, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Just Spices also has a strong digital presence: the Düsseldorf-based company now inspires more than 1.6 million followers on its social media channels such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
“The financial investment by Kraft Heinz gives us correspondingly more tailwind that we can implement our plans even faster and stronger,” Falk emphasises. The company has grown strongly in recent years: the number of employees has risen to 170 and the products have been distributed in Spain since last year, in addition to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “This year we will launch first in the UK and even more countries, and at the same time we plan to double our team,” says the CEO.
The merger brings changes, but the founder and CEO are - according to Falk - determined “to continue doing exactly what we do best: Bringing joy and new inspiration to kitchens with innovative spice blends. Kraft Heinz not only shares our values and visions, but has also convinced us with its strong corporate culture. With our innovative power, large online presence and brand strength, we can support Kraft Heinz to further develop their DTC (direct-to-costumer) sector,” Falk emphasises. “With a lot of ketchup for the whole team”, the successful start-up plans to launch into the future. •
Words Dagmar Haas-Pilwat
Pictures Just Spices