“The Lions’ Den”
Ankerkraut’s “part-time lions” shock lions
The “guest lions” Anne and Stefan Lemcke.
© RTL / Bernd-Michael Maurer
For the first time in the history of “Die Höhle der Löwen”, the Ankerkraut founders have included former candidates as guest investors.
Comeback with “Die Höhle der Löwen”: In 2016 Anne (42) and Stefan Lemcke (44) were able to convince the then lion Frank Thelen (45) with their spice mixtures Ankerkraut, now the two are investors themselves – and the first guest lions in the History of the founding show. In the fourth episode of the tenth season, the couple sits between Carsten Maschmeyer, Ralf Dümmel and Co. With their brisk demeanor, they almost cause a scandal.
Pfannenfan against Pfannenpabst
As pan lovers, Simon Köstler (28) and Filip Mierzwa (28) run the “Pfannenhelden” blog. Based on their experience and user feedback, the two of them developed cast iron pans under the name “STUR Cookware”, which are supposed to be lighter than their competitors on the market. Stefan Lemcke also comes out as a pan fan, owns 15 copies. The founder’s concept of “emotionalising pans” convinced pan collector Lemcke, but he and his wife would like to have 25 percent. However, the founders only want to give 10 percent for 380,000 euros. “Pfannen-Pope” Ralf Dümmel (54) gets out, Dagmar Wöhrl (67) wants 20 percent, Georg Kofler (64) even 30. More than 12 percent do not want the “Pfannenhelden” to go up. No deal.
Richard Schütze (26), Etienne Petermann (27) and Jakob Wowy (36) want to get fit through play. Your Moovya app combines classic fitness exercises with mobile phone games and measures your progress with a sensor belt. The app works with artificial intelligence. Carsten Maschmeyer (62) wakes up briefly at the keyword. But no lion wants to pay the 200,000 euros for 10 percent of the company’s shares. Not even the guest lions. Stefan Lemcke: “That is not our sweet spot”.
Revolutions for the Environment?
Branka Puljic (27) and Asmir Samardzic (29) promise nothing less than the “deodorant revolution”. “Holy Pit” is a vegan deodorant cream that should prevent odor-intensive bacteria from developing in the first place. The deodorant works without aluminum, microplastics and the like. The packaging is a tube made from recyclable sugar cane. There are also refillable sticks in the subscription model. The lions are initially unimpressed. Kofler gets out, but is convinced by a plea from Samardzic about the novelty of the product. But he wants 25 instead of the offered 15 percent for 100,000 euros. Ankerkraut offer 20 and add their experience as founders. Ralf Dümmel also wants 20 and scores with his sales experience in the drugstores of the republic. After the obligatory consultation, the “Holy Pit” choose the Lemckes. “Not that Ralf gets mad at us,” says Stefan, and he doesn’t really look happy out of the purple velvet suit.
The next founders also think big. Dave (33) and Alina Bassi (31) claim to have found “the solution to one of the greatest environmental problems”. Her start-up “Kleidly” produces new, sustainable plastic from old clothes that would otherwise produce CO2 in the waste incineration plant. From this, among other things, clothes hangers and their own sunglasses collection are created. For Georg Kofler a sham package: “This is new plastic made from old plastic”. Ralf Dümmel storms onto the stage to help the founders and to find a focus for their pitch. Because the concept is still too broad for the lions. “Kleidly” has to decide: Do you want to bring a new type of material into different industries or do you want to make sunglasses from old textiles? Until this has been clarified, no investor wants to pay the required 90,000 euros for 15 percent of the company’s shares.
“Something vegan, we’ve never had that,” the lions mockingly say when Wayne Kock (29) and Marlon Harms (26) introduce their brand “Veggie Crumbz”. Fresh vegetables are supposed to replace old bread as breading. What is so bad about bread, except that it contains gluten, is not clear. Nevertheless, the lions rush with offers. Dagmar Wöhrl wants to bring the product to the USA, she wants to pay the required 200,000 euros for 10 percent, just like Ankerkraut. Georg Kofler and Ralf Dümmel even team up and promise a “lightning start” nationally and internationally. But you would like 20 percent.
Now the situation is escalating. Stefan Lemcke first drives Maschmeyer over the mouth and then attacks Ralf Dümmel’s “whispering”. Kofler wants to stop the “discrimination” of the established investors by the “part-time lions”. The “Veggie Crumbz” then actually opt for more personal care from Ankerkraut and against the market power of the full-time lions. They seem anything but amused. Will the experiment of the guest lions be continued after this not exactly sympathetic appearance by Ankerkraut?