Good Brands

What Good Brands does

Good Brands AG is a publicly listed venture capital firm headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, founded in 2016 by Marc Langner and Matthias Storch. The company invests in early-stage Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) startups in the pre-seed and seed phases, deploying up to €250,000 per startup across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (DACH region). It currently manages approximately 20 ventures spanning nutritional supplements, bee products, sustainable household goods, flavored toothpicks, and related consumer categories. Good Brands shares are listed on the Hamburg Stock Exchange (WKN: A2AA5A / ISIN: DE000A2AA5A0) with a share capital of €951,325 divided into 951,325 shares.

The firm's business model is built on three revenue streams: capital gains from portfolio company exits (e.g., Bitterliebe sold for €1.92M, bedrop sold to Arcus Capital for €466K fixed plus contingent payments, and Honest Food Company sold to Delivery Hero SE), portfolio management services billed via fixed monthly remuneration plus success-based compensation (notably under the Start Now Consulting partnership covering Judith Williams' DHDL deal portfolio), and transaction-related fees. Notable exits include Honest Food Company (December 2019), Bitterliebe/BitterPower (December 2020), and bedrop/FLBE Health (July-August 2024). The firm has also absorbed material losses, including a €3.5M write-off on BUTIQ GmbH's 2018 insolvency and ~€5.1M of write-offs on Carrus Cultus and PHYNE in 2023.

Good Brands is operationally small — a four-person team led by co-founder/Vorstand Marc Langner, investment manager Henrik Sabban (appointed Vorstand December 2025) and investment manager Diana Boxheimer, following co-founder Matthias Storch's May 2025 departure. The company differentiates through its DACH D2C focus, its Start Now Consulting partnership (which provides TV-driven deal flow via Judith Williams' Die Höhle der Löwen appearances), and demonstrated retail-distribution outcomes for portfolio companies at dm-drogerie Markt, Müller, and Budni.

Name

Good Brands

Legal name

Good Brands AG

Website

https://goodbrands-ag.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Good Brands AG is a publicly listed Mannheim-based venture capital firm that invests up to €250,000 per startup in pre-seed and seed D2C brands across the DACH region, managing around 20 ventures and generating revenue through portfolio exits and portfolio management fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Early-stage Startup Investment

NAICS

Management of Companies and Enterprises (551)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem Investment Arms (FSANAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Innovation & Technology Scouting Units (with investment mandate) (FSANAHAI), Brand Guidelines, Governance & Brand Management (BPAFAEAF)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• D2C startup investment
• Seed funding DACH
• Portfolio management services
• Brand building investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Mannheim

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns and Exit Proceeds: Good Brands generates returns through successful exits of portfolio companies. The company has completed multiple exits including BitterPower GmbH (1.92M€ proceeds), Honest Food Company GmbH (sold to Delivery Hero), and bedrop (sold to Arcus Capital). Additional returns come from portfolio company exits and transaction fees.
2. Portfolio Management Services: Monthly fixed remuneration plus success-based compensation for managing portfolio companies and supporting exit preparations for partner companies including Start Now Consulting GmbH.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Good Brands AG is a venture capital investor that deploys seed and pre-seed capital (up to €250,000 per startup) into early-stage Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Beyond capital, the firm provides portfolio management, strategic brand-building support, and exit preparation services to approximately 20 ventures under management.

Product overview

Good Brands AG is a venture capital firm headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, founded in 2016. The company specializes in investing in early-stage (pre-seed and seed phase) Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) startups across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (DACH region). Good Brands provides capital investment of up to €250,000 per startup, along with strategic portfolio management support. The company manages approximately 20 ventures and offers services including exit preparation, portfolio company support, and strategic partnership with Start Now Consulting GmbH for managing DHDL (Die Höhle der Löwen) deals. The investment focus spans diverse D2C categories including food supplements, cosmetics, lifestyle products, e-commerce brands, and retail innovations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-seed and seed venture capital investment Equity investment of up to €250,000 per startup in early-stage (pre-seed and seed phase) Direct-to-Consumer companies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The offering is targeted at D2C startup founders seeking early-stage capital and strategic support.
• Portfolio management services Outsourced portfolio management provided to Start Now Consulting GmbH, including fixed monthly remuneration plus success-based compensation tied to portfolio company exits. The service supports managing investments of partner companies, including the DHDL deal portfolio of Judith Williams.
• Exit preparation services Strategic support for preparing portfolio companies for successful exits, including operational readiness and buyer matching. Successful exits include BitterPower GmbH (Bitterliebe, ~€1.92M proceeds), Honest Food Company GmbH (sold to Delivery Hero), and FLBE Health GmbH (bedrop, sold to Arcus Capital for €466K plus contingent payments).

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 ventures under management with multiple successful exits
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Channel F (Company Builder for Influencer)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Innovative company builder for influencers that facilitated Good Brands' co-investment with Judith Williams in NUTRIQ. Channel F connects influencer brands with investor expertise.
• Judith WilliamscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Good Brands manages the portfolio of DHDL deals made by Judith Williams. Collaboration began in 2019 through joint investment in Bitterliebe. Marc Langner serves as CEO of Start Now (Judith Williams' company) since January 2022. Joint investments in multiple portfolio companies including bedrop, Serotalin, NUTRIQ, and others.
• Start Now Consulting GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2021Strategic partnership where Good Brands AG provides support in managing investments of Start Now GmbH. The agreement includes fixed monthly remuneration plus success-based compensation for exits of Start Now portfolio companies. Good Brands also manages Judith Williams' DHDL (Die Höhle der Löwen) deal portfolio. Marc Langner was appointed CEO of Start Now in January 2022.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cherry Ventures: Berlin-based pre-seed and seed venture capital firm investing in European early-stage startups, including consumer and D2C brands. Directly comparable stage and geography focus, and similar ticket-size profile to Good Brands.
• Cavalry Ventures: Berlin-based early-stage VC investing at pre-seed and seed across European consumer, fintech, and SaaS. Comparable stage, ticket size, and DACH-anchored mandate, with a strong D2C and consumer brand orientation.
• Project A Ventures: Berlin-based operational venture capital firm focused on pre-seed to Series A digital and consumer businesses across Europe. Provides hands-on operational support analogous to Good Brands' portfolio management role, and competes for the same DACH early-stage deal flow.
• Speedinvest: Vienna-based early-stage VC with dedicated consumer brands vertical and pan-European mandate. Operates in the same DACH market as Good Brands and invests in similar consumer-internet and D2C categories, making it a close comparable.
• HV Capital: Early-to-growth-stage DACH venture capital firm with a long track record across consumer, internet, and technology. Directly comparable as a DACH-domiciled VC deploying institutional capital into regional startups, with similar operating geography and stage focus to Good Brands.
• 10x Founders: Early-stage DACH VC backed by operator-angels, writing first cheques into European B2C and consumer-internet startups. Comparable pre-seed/seed stage and DACH orientation, with strong founder-led deal sourcing similar to Good Brands' network-driven approach.
• Felix Capital: London-based venture capital firm exclusively focused on consumer brands and digital lifestyle businesses at seed to growth stage. Closest thematic comparable to Good Brands' D2C thesis, with similar strategic brand-building orientation, though operating from a UK base.

Broad incumbents

• Vorwerk Ventures: Corporate venture arm of the Vorwerk Group, investing in consumer brands and food/startup adjacencies. Provides a comparable example of an established consumer-brand investment vehicle, but with corporate balance-sheet backing and broader deal scale than Good Brands.
• Global Founders Capital: Global early-to-growth VC founded by the Samwer family with strong DACH and consumer-internet track record. A larger incumbent that competes for the same pre-seed and seed D2C deals in DACH with materially bigger fund capacity.

Emerging players

• Heartbeat Ventures: Berlin-based early-stage venture investor focused on digital health and consumer brands in DACH. Overlaps with Good Brands on consumer brand thesis and DACH focus, but operates with a smaller portfolio and is at an earlier stage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/good-brands-ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Good Brands