Also in the 12th season, the lionesses and lions were no slouch. They closed deals with 23 startups and invested a total of 4.7 million euros in new products. The final pitch belonged to a “lion mother,” as she called herself. Her topic: Pain in new mothers when breastfeeding, which she would like to counteract with her Mama Cooling Gel – instead of old home remedies such as quark and cabbage. Even alpha lion Carsten Maschmeyer started to ponder: “I realize again that the tasks that nature has assigned to the sexes are unfairly distributed.”
These products were presented:
• HistaFit
The food range of muesli, bars, broth, vegetable sauce and spread is low in histamine and is aimed at people with a corresponding intolerance.
• Klettpack
The carrying system is based on variably adjustable Velcro straps, with which objects weighing up to ten kilograms can be transported.
• Lazy Camping
The light and compact roof tent is suitable for almost all car roofs and, according to the manufacturer, can be set up in just a few simple steps.
• Mama Cooling Gel
The cooling gel consists of natural, plant extracts such as thyme, arnica and marigold and is intended to give mothers the most carefree breastfeeding possible.
• Standsome
The standing desks are offered as pure standing models, but there are also desk attachments where you can vary between standing and sitting.
“A real power lady,” enthused Dagmar Wöhrl, “with an unbelievable entrepreneurial gene.” Ralf Dümmel felt “crazy emotions” and wanted to open the “competitive market against cabbage and market” with the founder of Mama Cooling Gel, a mother of three from Hamburg. However, Judith Williams had the best arguments for a collaboration. She herself suffered from breastfeeding problems with her children (“I felt like the loser mum”) and took the presented breast gel apart constructively. Tests are absolutely necessary to show which active ingredient does what – “then I’ll be there with my whole mother and investor heart.” The mom deal was sealed.
The supermarkets are full of products for people with lactose and gluten intolerance. This is different with histamine. And the substance is in countless foods. A lot in tomatoes, chocolate, muesli, salami and tuna. Anyone who does not tolerate histamine suffers from abdominal cramps, diarrhea and nausea – like the two founders of the startup HistaFit. And: Carsten Maschmeyer. “I get stomach ache from red wine and can’t eat ham,” he confessed. However, he did not want to invest in the low-histamine food range of the entrepreneurial duo; Ralf Dümmel and Nils Glagau took over as double lions. “These products will be everywhere, everywhere!” (the star tried the products.)
One could almost feel sorry for Georg Kofler. All of his colleagues had already given up on the Lazy Tent car roof tents. They are comfortable and practical, was the tenor of the DHDL jury, but made in China, so not very sustainable and, at 1,500 euros, quite expensive. Kofler was not convinced of the product’s market potential either, but according to Maschmeyer, had let the trio of founders “chatter” him into negotiations. “I need Ralf here,” the millionaire manager wailed. Then he got into the startup – and onto the roof of a vehicle parked in the studio. To try out the “lazy” tent.
There are products that just aren’t. Like Standsome standing desks. “You have a cool product, but it doesn’t look cool,” said Carsten Maschmeyer, who could hardly calm down because of the design. “It looks like a garden chair on the table.” In addition to the controversial appearance, there were also delivery problems and skyrocketing prices. Because: So far, the birch wood came from Russia, now it should come from Finland. Even Ralf Dümmel waved it off. The startup Klettpack fared no better. No lion really saw through the carrying system. “It reminds me of a complicated climbing harness that the mountain guide has to help you with,” said Georg Kofler. And Maschmeyer summed it up: “With the problem you solve, I want to keep the problem.”
“The Lion’s Den” can be streamed on RTL.
This article contains so-called affiliate links. There is more information here.
