This investment carries considerable risks and may lead to a loss of the entire assets invested. Projected returns cannot be guaranteed and may be lower than expected.
Pumperlgsund is the first brand for pure egg white from chicken eggs in Germany. After its deal in "Die Höhle der Löwen 2017," the startup increased its sales tenfold to EUR 1.5 million. Two years after market launch, they are already included in the assortment of 3,500 retailers. In 2017, the demand was so high that 35% of the orders could not be met. This is about to change!
Pumperlgsund goes Austria: 350 new stores
350 additional dm stores, 25% increase in sales and a TV comeback for Die Höhle der Löwen.
Pumperlgsund - known from "Die Höhle der Löwen 2017" (German equivalent to “Shark Tank”) - is the first food label for pasteurized liquid egg whites. Two years after market entry, Pumperlgsund's egg white is available in more than 3,500 stores, including every dm drugstore and many Rewe and Edeka stores. A new process that allows for the egg white to be kept at room temperature for four months made its inclusion in the retail product range product. Previously, this was not possible due to food regulations. Pumperlgsund thus increased its sales tenfold from EUR 150,000 in 2016 to EUR 1.5 million in 2017 and is now the market leader for liquid egg white in food retail.
With an average annual market growth of 77 %, protein is also one of the fastest-growing areas of nutrition in Germany. After all, over 20 million athletes, seniors, pregnant women and dieters benefit from a high-protein diet and belong to Pumperlgsund's target group. Protein is not only needed to build and maintain muscle cells, it is also highly satiated, boosts our metabolism, and is healthy. There is no need to break and separate the eggs and you can easily prepare white omelets, make protein shakes, or add it as a protein kick to every meal.
Compared to the whole egg, liquid egg white is neutral in taste and is often added as a protein shot to meals, e.g. muesli. It also has 0% fat and only a third of the whole egg's calories. The egg yolk obtained during separation is a much sought-after raw material: Confectionaries and food manufacturers receive it in bulk from the manufacturer.
In 2015, the two founders were able to attract the former national goalkeeper Jens Lehmann as one of the first investors. He himself is a customer and uses the liquid egg white. In 2017, Frank Thelen came on board during the TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen," where he made his largest investment in a food startup so far by investing EUR 500,000 in Pumperlgsund.
Pumperlgsund also received the "Seal of Quality for a Better Quality of Life" from the renowned sports scientist Prof. Dr. Ingo Froböse from the German Sports University in Cologne in 2017.
With the Companists' investments, Pumperlgsund wants to strengthen its sales, move forward in opening up the German market, and establish exports.
Pumperlgsund's goal is to become Europe's No. 1 food label for convenience products made from eggs and to generate annual sales of just under EUR 39.5 million with an EBIT of EUR 10.5 million in 2025.
Liquid egg white from Pumperlgsund is pure egg white. It is 100% natural, without additives, and can be kept at room temperature for 4 months.
Product Advantages
Liquid protein inherently has very good nutritional properties and is low in energy, of high quality, and is well digestible:
Product Use
The egg white from Pumperlgsund can be used for a protein-rich diet and for cooking, baking, and making shakes.
FoodTech Entering Retail
Thanks to a newly developed process, Pumperlgsund's egg white can be stored at room temperature for at least 4 months and is not dependent on expensive refrigeration. This allows Pumperlgsund to be included in retail product ranges.
The reason: The refrigerators in supermarkets are set at 7 degrees Celsius. Due to a regulation, however, egg products requiring refrigeration may be stored at a maximum of 4 degrees. Thus, egg whites requiring refrigeration are prevented from entering supermarkets.
Customer Use
Liquid egg white is the gold standard among proteins and our body uses it to build our cells and enzymes. However, liquid egg white is not only a building material; it is also highly satiating and boosts our metabolism. It is a great ingredient for baking, e.g. whipped egg white, or for mixing cocktails, e.g. whiskey sour.
Certified
In 2017, Prof. Dr. Ingo Froböse of the German Sports University Cologne awarded Pumperlgsund’s liquid egg white as the first food item in Germany with the "Quality Seal for a Better Quality of Life".
The Nutrition Concepts
Together with well-known nutritionists, the Pumperlgsund team launched three nutrition concepts:
- EGG WHITE - The healthy fitness concept
- EGG WHITE - The healthy weight loss concept
- EGG WHITE - The healthy nutrition concept
Each concept is explained simply and comprehensibly on 144 pages and includes 40 healthy and protein-rich recipes.
Following the Pumperlgsund recipes, even pizza, burgers, cakes, and tiramisu can be healthy, tasty, and rich in protein. They use only natural ingredients and Pumperlgsund's liquid egg white.
Packaging Sizes and Prices
The white PET bottle will be phased out in the second half of 2018. It will be replaced by 4 new Tetra Packs in 2 different sizes and 2 different qualities.
The expansion of the product range will support further sales growth:
- Free-range quality serves the more price-sensitive consumers.
- The 300 ml packaging addresses testers, single households, and light consumers.
Pumperlgsund is the first food label for healthy egg-based convenience products.
Our focus is on product procurement, brand development, and the sale of pure liquid egg whites, innovative egg products, and developing healthy nutrition concepts.
70% of sales are generated through the drugstore and food retailer in B2B business, 30% through our own website and Amazon (B2C). dm is Pumperlgsund GmbH's largest retail customer.
85 % of the revenue is generated by the bottled egg white and the beverage carton, 15 % with the sale of the cookbooks.
The egg white is procured from partner producers. The books are designed in-house and produced by a printing house. This also makes Pumperlgsund GmbH a publisher for healthy nutrition.
We are setting up an export business to start in 2019: We are already negotiating with one of the largest food retailers in Switzerland. A full listing is being discussed to start in January 2019.
Depending on the success of the Companisto campaign, Pumperlgsund plans to participate in the international food fair "Sial" in Paris in October 2018 to acquire initial European customers.
Furthermore, a venture capitalist is interested in bringing liquid egg white to Asia and to establish sales there. Initial conversations regarding this project started in May 2018. We intend to make a decision by the end of the year as to whether and how to address the Asian market.
Pumperlgsund is the first brand to bring organic and free-range liquid egg white to stationary food and drugstore retail. Apart from Pumperlgsund, only WhitePRO is represented in retail stores (only available at Kaufland so far and with cage-free eggs).
The three main criteria for Pumperlgsund to enter the retail product range were the following product characteristics:
- The possibility of non-cooled storage
- Attractive packaging design
- Brand recognition through the TV appearance on "Die Höhle der Löwen."
There are three other noteworthy brands on the market who sell pure egg white: Body & Fit, Bulk Powders, and WhitePRO. The following competitive comparison shows their respective strengths and weaknesses.
These labels advertise the product advantages and their brand image to bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts, offer only cage-fee eggs, and sell exclusively online - with the exception of WhitePRO.
Pumperlgsund is listed with the following retailers:
Pumperlgsund's biggest customer is dm. In both Q4/2017 and Q1/2018, sales exceeded expectations, placing in the top 10:
Like carbohydrates and fat, protein is a macro nutrient. As such, the market and target group addressed are correspondingly large. Protein is often reduced to the sports nutrition sector, although the following markets are just as attractive – as the figures below show. However, understanding of the function and advantages of protein is not as wide-spread in these markets. Therefore, Pumperlgsund prepares editorial content to spread this knowledge.
In order to reach all target groups equally, liquid egg white should be positioned on the supermarket's egg shelf and not in the "sports nutrition" or "protein" section (exception: drugstore).
- In 2017, we established a basic distribution network of 3,500 stores and greatly increased brand awareness. With the tenfold increase in production volume, however, the production facilities also reached their limits and incurred a 20 % reject rate. Only about 60 % of the initial market demand was met in 2017.
- In the first half of 2018, production, laboratory work, and a large share of logistics were outsourced and transferred to a new manufacturer in order to stabilize the supply chain. During this restructuring phase, we halted active sales activities and served only repeat orders from retailers.
- The focus in the second half of 2018 is on sales: In addition to central and regional listings, we aim to increase availability in the individual EDEKA and REWE stores. Pumperlgsund can currently only be found in less than 10% of all Edekas and Rewes. We also plan to engage a well-known social media influencer with a reach of over 3 million fans for Pumperlgsund. Negotiations are in progress and Pumperlgsund has made a concrete offer.
- We plan to start active exports next year and offer liquid egg white on the European market. An evaluation of the Asian market has also already been initiated by a partner company.
- In the next 2-3 years, we plan to launch other egg-based convenience products (the first real brand-name egg in Germany, protein bars, pancake mixes, yogurts, desserts, etc.).
- Pumperlgsund wants to be the No. 1 food label and market leader for egg-based convenience products by 2026. Furthermore, the egg market is to become a pioneer for fair, transparent, and sustainable animal keeping and production. The proportion of organic and free-range products from the partner manufacturer is to be greatly expanded.
The Pumperlgsund team will use the collected capital to establish a professional distribution system. Since the responsibility for the product range often lies with the individual stores, especially at REWE and EDEKA, we need strong distribution with clearly structured processes and good software solutions.
Level 1: Establishment of strong national distribution
Funding threshold: as of EUR 100,000
- Establishment of a small but powerful sales team
- Visits to national food fairs and retail fairs
- Production of an "special package" for TV-shopping channels
- Production of sales documents for distribution
Level 2: Establishment of a strong e-commerce presence
Funding threshold: as of EUR 400,000
- Relaunch of the Pumperlgsund website
- Relaunch of the B2C online shop
- Development of a B2B platform
- Realization of online and influencer marketing
Level 3: Development of export business
Funding threshold: as of EUR 600,000
- Hiring an Export Manager
- Visiting international food fairs
- Expansion of the product range with multilingual labels for the egg white and translating the books into the respective national languages
- Production of international sales documents
Fabian and Jan founded Pumperlgsund GmbH in 2015. The Ming Holding design agency joined the company right at the beginning and took over the creation of the look & feel of the Pumperlgsund brand, the design of the bottle, and the creation of the recipe page.
Former national goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was also there from the very beginning, sharing an office with the founding team and always tackling any problems that arose together. Pumperlgsund was the first investment which he publicly acknowledged on TV. As an athlete, he is enthusiastic about the natural protein alternative and is a customer himself.
Frank Thelen and his team Freigeist Capital have been shareholders since the 4th season of Die Höhle der Löwen. His team supports Pumperlgsund on a daily basis, whether as a door opener in sales, when setting up financial and sales plans, or in online developments. Freigeist is available 24/7 and is actively involved.
Last but not least Charlotte and Ben are friends of the two founders and are also shareholders. Charlotte created the first 66 recipes for "Das Eiweiß Kochbuch" ("The Egg White Cookbook") for Pumperlgsund and is the author of the title. Ben is a founder and business angel himself and advises the founders in their daily operations and always helps when things get critical.
Pumperlgsund is grateful for any support and would appreciate Companists’ help in the following areas:
- Sales: Contacts with food retailers, especially buyers at Rewe, EDEKA & CO.
- E-Commerce: Magento developments
- Human Resources: We are looking for a strong hands-on finance & controlling manager
- Marketing: Strong influencers
We would also be delighted if you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and send us photos of the egg shelves in your favorite supermarket via WhatsApp to +49 162 / 39 66 074.
Team from l. to r.: Anna Fresz (Marketing Manager), Mirjam Bader (Content Manager), Jan Göktekin (Managing Director), Fabian König (Managing Director), Anja Lutter (Customer Service), Judith Aelker (Supply Chain Manger)
Pumperlgsund GmbH
Hotterstraße 3
80331 Munich
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