How Shavent wants to become a long-running hit

At Shavent, they are convinced that demand will remain sustainable. “We didn’t go to the supermarkets,” says Romy Lindenberg. If you “flip” a product to retail in large quantities, you lose control.

The Shavent devices are too expensive anyway, at around 100 euros. The show helped raise customer awareness of the issue of plastic waste by exchanging replaceable heads. As expected, demand in the online shop after Christmas fell again somewhat. But now you grow from a higher level.

Shavent won entrepreneur Judith Williams and ex-Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg as investors for the show. Together with them, the next stage of the company’s development is to be heralded: Shavent is about to launch a solid shaving foam and a gel.

So far there has been one popular business model in the industry: the manufacturers of wet razors often sell the handles cheaply – the money is then earned with the interchangeable heads. This is usually not particularly sustainable. “In Germany alone, around half a billion plastic razor heads end up in the trash every year,” says Armin Seidel. That corresponds to 3,000 tons of waste that cannot be separated.

Large providers dominate the market

The wet razor market is dominated by Procter & Gamble with the Gillette brand and Edgewell with the Wilkinson brand. Both companies sell both the holders and razor blades. The US brand Harry’s is also entering the market as a newcomer. The company, founded in 2013 by Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider, sells the razors primarily online and also as a subscription model. The company recently started in Germany.

According to Seidel, the mechanical engineer came up with the idea for the alternative to the established players in the shower. He developed a plastic-free swing-head razor for men and women, and he produced the first prototypes on a 3D printer. “I thought the idea was brilliant,” says daughter Lindenberg, who had previously gained a lot of start-up experience as managing director at Hello Fresh. The first few hundred copies were produced with a crowdfunding campaign.

The razor is made of die-cast zinc, the oscillating head is said to be particularly gentle and agile and therefore significantly more functional than, for example, rigid safety razors, the founders explain. Spare parts such as the springs should still be interchangeable years later. “This is a razor for life,” says Lindenberg. Customers can use standard half razor blades.

When it comes to marketing, Shavent relies heavily on social media. Other start-ups, such as Everdrop, which sells cleaning products without plastic packaging, use influencers on Instagram and Co. to advertise to customers who are interested in sustainability. Shavent’s target group is both men and women.

Rosberg and Williams secured 15 percent of the shares in the “Lion’s Den”. “Shavent shows that even supposedly small products such as wet razors as disposable items have a massive impact on our environment,” said Rosberg. The former racing driver has been investing in sustainable start-ups for several years.

Cautious expansion of the product range

Last year, Shavent was already able to achieve millions in sales. “The market potential is huge,” says Lindenberg. 40 to 60 percent in Germany always or occasionally wet shave. One in three women use disposable razors that are particularly harmful to the environment. If you explain to people that an oscillating head shaver, which is expensive to buy, will pay off financially after just a year and a half, many will be willing to buy it.

Lindenberg and her father now want to carefully expand with the addition of shaving care products. “We see ourselves as a family business and don’t want to overstretch the range,” says Lindenberg. The shaving foam was developed together with Judith Williams, who has a lot of experience in the cosmetics industry. The packaging is plastic-free, the product is suitable for men and women and all skin types.

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Expanding the product range is tricky for young companies. Von Floerke, for example, got into trouble when, after the “Lion’s Den”, it wanted to sell not only tailored suits but also spirits.

Others like Ankerkraut stayed closer to their core business and were successful. The Hamburg spice start-up, in which “Lion’s Cave” juror Frank Thelen participated, was recently taken over by the food giant Nestlé.

According to experts, the TV show is both an opportunity and a risk for companies. “It’s great for start-ups that a lot of attention is generated for the products by consumers through appearances on television or media reports,” said Carsten Rudolph, Managing Director of the BayStartup investor network, to the Handelsblatt.

However, two things are important: “On the one hand, the start-up must be prepared with its logistics for the onslaught, because nothing is more frustrating – for both sides – than being sold out for a long time”. In addition, the sales channels would have to be set up broadly for the time that follows. “Retail certainly still plays a major role here, as successful examples such as Little Lunch have shown.”

At Shavent, they want to develop their company as a family business themselves. So far, Lindenberg and Seidel have worked well as an entrepreneurial team. “We have a 37-year-old culture of debate,” says the daughter. You couldn’t imagine a better co-founder. And the father emphasizes: “I’ve never had a problem with strong people.”

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