It all started with Benno, who was still living in his shared apartment in Cologne.
In addition to studying sports science, he was a self-employed sports masseur and climbing instructor, as well as a route setter. And what do you need for these professions? That's right! Functional and healthy hands. But because bouldering and climbing put a lot of strain on the skin, and magnesium (for grip on the wall) only makes the problem worse, a hand cream was needed to solve these problems.
So Benno went in search
...of a sustainable and organic hand cream that would care for and heal his battered hands. But almost all creams in pharmacies and drugstores are packaged in plastic tubes that end up in the yellow recycling bin after a single use. Benno was also bothered by the fact that almost all creams contain "AQUA" as their first ingredient, meaning water, and to figure this out and decipher the other ingredients, you almost need a Latin degree.
Solid, refillable, and made from only five organic ingredients.
No suitable hand cream was found. So he decided to produce a hand cream for himself and his climbing community. In his shared apartment kitchen in the Belgian Quarter in the heart of Cologne, he experimented and produced the first Daumenschmaus: beeswax from a friend and various ingredients from the organic store around the corner. It was so well received by his friends that the first 12 Daumenschmaus were immediately sold out.
The product and its effects thrilled not only Benno's friends.
Soon, his childhood friend Lennart and his brother Fritz were on board, and plans were made not only to produce and sell cosmetics but also to create social value. The idea of a social business focused on genuine ecological added value was a core part of the venture from the beginning.
Creating social value and profit through entrepreneurship
The Kiel University network with yooweedoo refined the idea of "social entrepreneurship" and soon Marc (Fritz's former flatmate) was also on fire. Thus, the idea arose to leave a meaningful impact that is product-bound and not profit-dependent. As regional, fast, and effective as possible. Wildflower meadows for the protection of insects and bees was an obvious choice, as organic beeswax is a main ingredient of Daumenschmaus.
Planting trees has long been an overused marketing promise.
Wildflower meadows, on the other hand, have a regional effect, quickly store CO2, provide habitat for insects of all kinds, and give the soil a rest. Because many people are not aware: species extinction is the planetary boundary that has already been exceeded the most (before climate change), and the consequences are unforeseeable.
The first production was set up in Benno and Fritz's parents' house in Westensee.
Not yet entirely up to hygiene standards, but functional and inexpensive, the first production facility was established, and the Daumenschmaus was produced on weekends after university. At its peak, 400 pieces were produced per day. However, the first orders were already coming in (picture with stack of packages), and 30 bouldering gyms needed to be supplied. For the first six months, Lennart, Benno, Fritz, and Marc were producing almost every other weekend. The beeswax has been supplied by Dorothea in Demeter quality since the beginning.
The first dedicated office with cleanroom production in Hamburg
It became too cramped in the parents' house; the Daumenschmaus project was taking up too much time "on the side." So, the jobs were quit, dissertations were quickly written, and the move to a first office in Hamburg with its own production facility was imminent. At the same time, new products were developed, the impact model with wildflower meadow donations was rolled out nationwide, and 4peoplewhocare was founded as a GmbH.
11 employees, 350,000 sqm of wildflower meadows, and 12 products
Our packaging looks a bit different now.
Over time, production has become much more professional and is constantly being rethought and improved.
What else has happened:
We have moved our production within Hamburg,
Since 2023, we have also been shipping our products to stores outside the DACH region, and we are on the shelves of several major organic chains.
So we've been really busy, but we're also very grateful for your support in the form of reviews and purchases.
Here's to many more years of 4 people who care!
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