Senior citizens bake cakes for the Munich startup Kuchentratsch. Founder Katharina Mayer recently appeared at Opening of the startup festival Bits & Pretzels on stage and will be facing TV investors on "The Lion's Den" on October 16. Here, she tells us everything there is to know about her business — and reveals her own favorite cake.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your product!
After completing her business studies with a focus on social and healthcare management, Katharina Mayer (29) wondered why she couldn't buy cakes as delicious as her grandmother's anywhere else. So, at the age of 24, she promptly founded Kuchentratsch.
Kuchentratsch is a social startup from Munich where senior citizens lovingly bake delicious grandma cakes. In our bakery, grandmas and grandpas can network and earn some extra money to supplement their retirement.
We sell our cakes to Munich cafés and ship them in our special Kuchentratsch packaging throughout Germany by mail to corporate and private customers.
Sales of Grandma's cakes are in the six-figure range.
2. But that's been around for a long time!
Think again! Social startups are already few and far between, but sending grandma's homemade cakes by mail? We're even getting messages from Australia saying it's a really great new idea.
3. What are the three main ingredients for your recipe for success?
Keeping our goal of “making life more worth living” in mind, enjoying our work and communicating openly.
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
We employ a whole horde of grandmas and grandpas on part-time jobs, 35 in total. In addition, we have our "youngsters," seven in total from the office to handle administrative expenses. So far, we've been able to double our revenue every year. Because we've been on a growth trajectory and still are, we haven't yet broken even. We plan to do that in two to three years. Currently, we're generating revenue well into the six-figure range.
Unicorn cake in planning
5. What does Munich mean to you?
Munich is not only Katharina's hometown, where she grew up, but also the location of our Kuchentrasch bakery. We love Bavarian tradition, mixed with a great deal of international flair and a passion for the future. There are great startups here with whom we can exchange ideas and experience a lot together.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
With the broadcast of DHDL, Epic Fail Night is definitely moving even further into the future. As a startup, you're always on the fence, but we believe that with Kuchentratsch we can help shape the future and our society. Maybe we'll even bake a unicorn cake for that.
7. Prince Regent’s cake or apple pie?
Apple-cranberry cake from Grandma Josefine!
