Dusseldorf In spring 2018, the first Share products were on the shelves of Rewe and the drugstore chain dm. The nut bars, mineral water or liquid soaps from the social start-up Share are now available almost everywhere: At Aldi Süd, Rossmann, Ikea, Shell or Aral, in the on-board bistros of Deutsche Bahn or in the planes of Lufthansa and Eurowings. Once started with three products, the Berlin company now offers over 100 products, including chocolate, snacks, oat milk, stationery and hats.
Today, almost four years later, co-founder and managing director Sebastian Stricker describes himself as “grateful and somewhat incredulous”. The Austrian is successful through sharing: For every product that Share sells, a person in need receives a thematically appropriate donation, the consumer goods brand promises. Stricker calls it the “1 + 1 principle”.
For example, there is a portion of food for every nut bar, and for every mineral water sold, Share supports the construction or repair of wells. To this end, Stricker cooperates with the United Nations, the Berlin food bank or the “Action against Hunger”. Using the QR codes on the products, the buyer can track where Share is doing good on the Internet.
So far, Share has provided 80 million aid, reaching 1.5 million people in need in 21 countries, Stricker calculates. Share would share a product any second.
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Sales grow every year in the double-digit percentage range, in absolute terms they are in the double-digit million range. The 39-year-old doesn’t want to read the exact numbers in the newspaper. Share makes the bulk of its sales in the grocery trade.
Positions at the Boston Consulting Group and the Clinton Foundation
Unlike the big brands, Share hardly invests in advertising. The money should flow into the social projects – depending on the product, it is up to 39 percent of the sales price. “It is easier for me to motivate myself for things in which I can see a greater purpose and do something good,” says Stricker.
The Austrian, who studied economics in Vienna and did his doctorate in politics, has always had a social streak. After four years as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, he worked for the Clinton Foundation in Tanzania and for the United Nations World Food Program in Rome and West Africa. In 2014 he developed the crowdfunding app ShareTheMeal, with which you can donate 40 cents for a meal for those in need. In 2016, the UN took over Stricker’s first start-up.
Series: Social Entrepreneurship
Acting socially as a company is a megatrend that is worth jumping on sooner rather than later, he reports. “The corona pandemic in particular has shaken consumer behavior completely, and more and more people are becoming more and more important when shopping.” Stricker is certain that the proportion of these buyers will continue to rise in the coming years.
But this will remain a challenge in retail. In the highly competitive industry, every penny counts; for most customers, the price at the supermarket checkout is still the deciding factor. And share is often a little more expensive than the competition because the company does not produce in bulk – and part of the income goes into social projects.
So Share’s efforts have so far not paid off, at least economically. The social start-up is still not in the black in its fourth year. However, managing director Stricker is not concerned. “With our investors, I have the feeling that we can build a foundation on which we can grow in the long term.”
This year, the French company Creadev, which focuses on sustainable investments, joined the company. The start-up funding came in 2018 from Atlantic Food Labs owned by Berlin investor Christophe Maire, from ex-trade manager Andreas Berger and from Döhler, a manufacturer of natural flavors.
Doing good and earning money – this is “absolutely possible” for knitters
Increasing sales, no profits – the question of whether social entrepreneurship is worthwhile in consumer goods companies should be allowed. “From my point of view, it is absolutely possible that we will soon be in the black,” says Stricker. Development aid can be surprisingly cheap. With just two to four cents from a product, Share can organize clean drinking water for a day. Stricker also explains that there have been no profits so far with investments for the coming years.
Share, which currently has around 100 employees, plans to announce several new partnerships in 2022. “We are considering the other areas in which this might make sense,” says Stricker. The aim is to cooperate with banks, mobile communications or travel providers. For a consumer goods manufacturer, these would be quite unusual partnerships.
Berliners are working with more and more companies. The fact that Stricker entered into cooperation with Aldi Süd, Rossmann, the drugstore chain Müller and the sporting goods retailer Decathlon in autumn 2021 helps his company establish itself on the mass market. But “Rewe and dm were our pioneers,” says Stricker. “Without them we would never have been competitive.”
So far, Share has provided 80 million aid, reaching 1.5 million people in need in 21 countries.
(Photo: share GmbH)
Just one year later, in 2019, Share was able to win the airline Eurowings as a partner and even ousted the food multinational Nestlé with its Wasser Vittel. Most recently, the Berliners made a deal with the Eurowings parent Lufthansa. Since December, Share has launched its own collection at the eyewear online retailer Mister Spex.
Share may benefit from the fact that more and more businesses want to boast of sustainable endeavors. Working with a partner who is socially committed seems like a straightforward solution. According to his own statement, Stricker receives inquiries from the economy almost every week. He argues that Share’s partners were also simply responding to customer needs. “Doing good when consuming is not a short-term hype, but an inevitable trend.”
In his first interview with Handelsblatt at the beginning of 2018, Stricker started dreaming. At the time, he hoped that his brand would be able to establish itself across Europe in five years. That would be 2023. When asked about this, Stricker reaffirmed his plans for growth. “The potential is huge. We are currently only achieving a fraction of what is possible. “
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