Munich Startup: What motivated you to start a company?
nnnnJessica Krauter, co-founder and CEO: The idea of inspiring people in their daily lives with natural, pure food – without any compromises on quality or enjoyment. With Buah, we wanted to show that healthy snacks don’t have to be boring, and at the same time build a company that has real social impact: we donate five percent of our profits, currently to the organization Arthelps.
nnnnMunich Startup: What would you have liked to know before your first startup?
nnnnJessica Krauter: That leadership is not an innate talent, but something you have to actively learn. I wish I had understood earlier how important it is to continuously work on yourself as a leader. Additionally, at Buah we learned that it’s crucial to put the right people in the right positions. Only when people work in their element do they get into their flow. And that’s exactly what makes the difference for a team and an entire company.
nnnnMunich Startup: How has your company been financed so far?
nnnnJessica Krauter: Buah started with bootstrapping, ran a successful crowdfunding campaign, and won several competitions. In 2015 and 2018 we brought in investors. In 2019, Buah was on the brink of insolvency and we had to consistently pursue the path to profitability – which we succeeded in doing. Since then, Buah has been in the black and is profitable.
nnnnBoredom as a source of inspiration
nnnnMunich Startup: When and where do you get your best ideas?
nnnnJessica Krauter: My best ideas for Buah come when I’m in nature – alone, completely out of everyday life and the daily grind. Boredom is extremely valuable to me in my role as Buah founder. I keep noticing that it’s precisely in these quiet moments that ideas emerge that really drive Buah forward strategically.
nnnnMunich Startup: What are your 3 favorite work tools?
nnnnJessica Krauter: I love Langdock, our AI tool that helps me enormously in my daily work. Plus Asana for project management and Slack for team communication at Buah.
nnnnMunich Startup: Your top tip on pitching?
nnnnJessica Krauter: Be authentic and be yourself. Show your passion and your joy in what you do. Your audience will feel that immediately. At Buah, our genuine enthusiasm for natural fruit snacks was always our strongest argument. No pitch deck in the world can replace genuine passion.
nnnnBuilding a lovebrand with clear purpose and authentic product
nnnnMunich Startup: Does it seem like a good time to start a company right now? Why?
nnnnJessica Krauter: Yes, especially in the food and sustainability sector, consumer awareness is growing enormously. If you start today with a clear purpose and an authentic product, you have good chances of building a real lovebrand. Nevertheless, the current economic crisis makes it difficult to raise capital. As a founder, you should plan for this realistically.
nnnnMunich Startup: What technology or industry would you bet on with your next startup?
nnnnJessica Krauter: I would go into the food industry again. You have a tangible product, and I love that so much. You see directly the people who consume your product, and you realize very concretely how you’re doing something good and changing the world a little bit. This tangibility, which I experience every day with Buah, is unbeatable for me.
nnnnMunich Startup: What could be improved at the startup location Munich from your perspective?
nnnnJessica Krauter: As Buah founder, it would help greatly if the business tax rate were lowered. That would give founders in the region noticeably more financial room to maneuver, especially in the early stages.
nnnnMunich Startup: Which founder would you like to meet in person? And what would you ask them?
nnnnJessica Krauter: I would very much like to meet Verena Pausder. I find it impressive how strong she is as a person and how actively she shapes and changes the founder scene, similar to how we’re trying to rethink the snack industry with Buah. I would ask her what her daily life actually looks like – her weekly sprints, her routines, and how she manages to juggle it all.”
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