Munich Startup: What does Franky & Friends do? What problem do you solve?
Frank Matthiesen, Franky & Friends: Franky & Friends is a Happy Snack Community We've developed three favorite drinks in snack form (Pina Colada, Coffee Lovers, and Golden Milk Nut & Fruit Mix). Our snacking fun is packed with protein-rich nuts and sun-kissed, nutrient-dense dried fruits. Our ingredients are always organic, sugar-free, vegan, and mostly sourced from smallholder cooperatives. This is pure, fair-trade enjoyment.
Especially in the conventional sector, many nuts and dried fruits are treated with pesticides, sulfurized, and bleached. With Franky & Friends, we are consciously breaking new ground. Franky isn't just my name; it stands for: F – Fair & Social, R – Respectful to people, animals, and the environment, A – Exceptional Snacks, N – Sustainable, K – No additives, no sugar, no artificial flavors, no genetic engineering, & Y – You, because with us, you can get involved.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Frank Matthiesen, Franky & Friends: There are already various nut and dried fruit suppliers. But with our concept, we go a step further. With us, customers are actively involved and can now your own favorite mix from fair-trade organic ingredients. Whether just nuts, just dried fruit, or a mix with dark chocolate, pretzels, and rose petals, there are no limits to creativity. The community then votes on the ideas. The winners receive a share of the sales and can admire their names on the packaging. The delicious, sugar-free nut and fruit mixes are lovingly packaged by a workshop for people with disabilities in Bavaria. We have already been honored with the Green Brands Germany Award 2024 for this concept and are nominated for the Bavarian Innovation Award 2024.
Revolution on the snack shelf
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Frank Matthiesen, Franky & Friends: I'm Franky, 39 years old, and the founder of Franky & Friends. Together with my community, I want to revolutionize the snack world! Most of us snack daily. But most snacks are full of industrial sugar and sugar substitutes. Plus, cheap oils and artificial flavors. Furthermore, conventional products are usually bleached and sulfurized. Where the original ingredients come from and how they are grown – no information. This usually comes at the expense of the workers in the countries where they are grown.
At Franky & Friends, things are completely different. We rely on natural, sun-kissed, wholesome, and fair-trade organic ingredients, with no added sugar. Nuts and dried fruits are real powerhouses; they're full of energy. We need protein for our muscles. Unsaturated fatty acids are good for the cardiovascular system. Antioxidants protect cells and promote youthful skin. And who doesn't want to look young? And all this with completely natural foods.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Frank Matthiesen, Franky & Friends: The biggest challenge is awareness and thus regular, consistent sales. Despite trade fairs and markets as well as social media presence, the food sector is a highly competitive market with cheap and unhealthy foods. Many organic retailers want to offer our delicious, high-quality products, but believe they can only obtain them once we are listed with the wholesaler, as the processing effort would otherwise be too great. Wholesalers, in turn, believe they will only include us in their product range once we are listed with the organic retailer. This is a real catch-22. As a fair, high-priced food startup that deliberately does things differently, it's not that easy to gain recognition. That's why we applied to appear on the Lion's Den. We'll see what happens.
Franky & Friends develops ideas in the community
Munich Startup: Where do you want to be in one year, where in five years?
Frank Matthiesen, Franky & Friends: In a year, I want to have built an even larger snack community in Germany with Franky & Friends, where we can create delicious and healthy nut and dried fruit mixes together. I also hope that Franky & Friends will be listed in several organic stores and delicatessens so that our popular snacks can also be purchased locally.
In five years, we'll be a large, Europe-wide Friends community with employees who, in addition to nut and dried fruit mixes, will create a variety of other delicious and healthy snack ideas. Because we already have a lot of ideas.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Frank Matthiesen, Franky & Friends: I think Munich is a great startup location. There are many places to learn and network, such as Munich Startup, Baystartup, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Munich Business Start-up Office, founder get-togethers, and the Social Startup Hub Bavaria. There are great events and fantastic trade fairs on a variety of topics. I highly recommend that every founder attend trade fairs and actively seek out contact with other founders. You can only win, and new collaborations may arise. However, the topic of funding could certainly gain more attention in Munich, especially in the food sector.
Munich Startup: Public transport or bicycle?
Frank Matthiesen, Franky & Friends: Absolutely clear: cycling. For me, cycling is pure freedom.
