The start-up “Lizza” is one of the great success stories from the start-up show “Die Höhle der Löwen”. In 2016, Carsten Maschmeyer and Frank Thelen invested in the healthy new pizza in front of millions of TV viewers. A gigantic customer success and a lucrative resale of the food company followed.
Now the start-up is writing a less pleasant chapter: Lizza GmbH has filed for insolvency at the Offenbach district court, according to an announcement by the court. By order of the court, the provisional insolvency administrator Andreas Kleinschmidt takes over the business. “Production and sales are currently continuing without restrictions,” Kleinschmidt told the “Wirtschaftswoche”. “We are now taking all measures to ensure production and sales in the medium and long term.”
Bankruptcy is not yet an issue on the Lizza homepage. There, the brand prefers to present two new flavors of its well-known pizza crusts “to match its 7th birthday”: garlic-rosemary and tomato-basil. At first, Lizza did not respond to an inquiry from stern about the future of the company.
In 2016, the low-carb pizza dough made from flaxseed was extremely well received by both investors and the public in the “Lion’s Den”. Just a few hours after the show was broadcast, Lizza had orders in the online shop for a mid-six-figure sum. With the help of the celebrity investors Maschmeyer and Thelen, production was expanded, the products were brought to retail and sales increased by millions.
The lucrative resale of the company followed in 2020: The Hamburg group Cremer took over the majority of Lizza for a lot of money. Maschmeyer and Thelen, who sold their shares, spoke of a “multi-million exit”. The founders Matthias Kramer and Marc Schlegel also sold a large part of their shares and withdrew from the operative business shortly afterwards.
But Cremer was apparently not happy with his new acquisition. Although Lizza generated more than four million euros a year, sales have recently been declining. In addition, the company was probably in the red until recently. In September 2022, it was resold to the British food investor S-Ventures PLC, which took over 100 percent of the shares.
The takeover announcement speaks of “challenging times”, increasing cost pressure and changing consumer buying behavior. “Having an experienced partner like S-Ventures PLC at your side gives Lizza the same security that it can assert itself in the turbulent market environment and new, attractive growth opportunities,” it said.
But now the new shareholder has probably withdrawn, as the preliminary insolvency administrator Kleinschmidt told the “Wirtschaftswoche”. He is now looking for a new investor for Lizza and is confident that he can find one. The products are in great demand on the market and are extremely up-to-date, “so we are optimistic that we can implement a long-term renovation solution”.
Sources: Insolvency announcements / Wirtschaftswoche / Lizza / S-Ventures PLC
