Waschbär

What Waschbär does

Waschbär – Der Umweltversand is a German direct-to-consumer retailer of sustainable household, beauty, garden, food, furniture, children's, and lifestyle products, founded in 1987 in Freiburg im Breisgau and now headquartered in Berlin (Schwedenstr. 9, 13359). It operates as a trading name under Frölich & Kaufmann Verlag und Versand GmbH, which in turn is part of the Ganske Verlagsgruppe conglomerate. The company sells exclusively online and via print/online catalog, with no physical retail locations; shipping is handled primarily through Deutsche Post AG within Germany, DPD for oversized items, and international carriers for shipments to Austria, Switzerland, the Benelux region, and worldwide destinations.

The merchant stack runs on the OXID eShop platform with a layered marketing infrastructure that includes Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Pinterest Tracking, Bing Ads, AWIN affiliate, Inxmail for newsletter dispatch, consentmanager for GDPR consent, Findologic for site search, Sovendus for post-purchase vouchers, Trbo for personalization, and Cloudflare CDN. This is a conventional, well-instrumented European e-commerce architecture rather than a proprietary technology moat. The catalog spans 13+ categories — household, beauty & wellness, living (including furniture and bedding as recently featured on the 2026-05 homepage), garden, children, organic food, books, music, jewelry & accessories, bags & backpacks, and stationery — positioning Waschbär as a one-stop eco-shopping destination rather than a category specialist.

The business model is straightforward unit-pricing D2C retail with no subscription tier or membership: individual SKUs are priced €4.50–€799.00 including VAT, with shipping added separately and no minimum order value. Revenue streams are split between web shop orders and catalog/phone orders, paid via invoice (subject to credit checks by CRIF Bürgel/Creditpass for first-time buyers) or other standard methods, and supported by a 14-day return policy. The customer base consists of environmentally conscious and health-conscious DACH consumers seeking certified organic (DE-ÖKO-034) and responsibly sourced alternatives to conventional household and personal-care products; no enterprise or B2B customers are present in the data. The legal entity is a private GmbH registered in Berlin (HRB 26036) with three named managing directors (Thomas Ganske, Andreas Kaufmann, Frederik Palm), no subsidiaries, and no external funding rounds.

Name

Waschbär

Legal name

Waschbär in der Frölich & Kaufmann Verlag und Versand GmbH

Website

https://waschbaer.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Waschbär – Der Umweltversand is a German direct-to-consumer and catalog retailer, founded 1987 and based in Berlin, that sells certified organic (DE-ÖKO-034) and sustainable household, beauty, food, furniture, and lifestyle products to environmentally and health-conscious consumers across DACH and selected European markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Consumer Goods Retail

NAICS

General Merchandise Retailers (455), All Other Specialty Food Retailers (445298)

SIC

Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961), Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

Grocery & Food Omnichannel (CRAFAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grocery & Pantry Inventory-led Online Retailers (CRAFADAF)

Keywords

• Sustainable consumer goods
• Eco-friendly retail
• Mail order catalog
• Natural cosmetics
• Organic household products

Headquarters

HQ city

Freiburg Im Breisgau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales - E-commerce: Revenue generated from direct online product sales across multiple categories including household, beauty/wellness, living/furniture, garden, children, food, books, music, jewelry/accessories, bags/backpacks, and stationery. Products are sold at fixed prices with VAT included, with shipping costs added separately.
2. Product Sales - Catalog/Phone Orders: Revenue from catalog-based ordering and telephone orders, allowing customers to place orders via the printed/online catalog or by calling the order hotline (8-20 Uhr daily).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Waschbär is a direct-to-consumer e-commerce and mail-order retailer selling sustainable, eco-friendly products across household, beauty and wellness, living/furniture, garden, children's, organic food, books, music, jewelry/accessories, bags/backpacks, and stationery categories. Orders are placed through the OXID-powered online shop at waschbaer.de, the printed/online catalog, or a daily telephone order hotline, with delivery via Deutsche Post AG (and DPD for oversized items). The company has no minimum order value, supports purchase on invoice, and operates as a brand of Frölich & Kaufmann Verlag und Versand GmbH, certified as an organic trader (DE-ÖKO-034) since 1987.

Product overview

Waschbär is a German online marketplace and catalog retailer specializing in sustainable and eco-friendly products. The company operates as a single unified e-commerce platform (Waschbär Online-Shop) complemented by a print catalog and newsletter. The product portfolio spans multiple categories including household goods, kitchen equipment, natural cosmetics, furniture and home textiles, garden products, children's items, organic food, books, music, jewelry, bags, backpacks, and stationery. Additional services include a customer account system with wishlist functionality and gift vouchers. Waschbär positions itself as an environmentally conscious retailer offering practical everyday products that are sustainably produced.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Waschbär Online-Shop Own e-commerce storefront at www.waschbaer.de selling sustainable and eco-friendly consumer products across household, beauty/wellness, living, garden, children, food, books, music, jewelry/accessories, bags/backpacks, and stationery categories, with fixed unit pricing, no minimum order value, purchase on invoice, and 14-day returns for individual consumers.
• Waschbär Print and Online Catalog (Katalog) Mail-order product catalog published by Waschbär since 1987, available in printed form and as a browsable online catalog, enabling consumers to order the same sustainable assortment via mail, telephone hotline (Bestelltelefon, 8-20 Uhr daily), or online order form.
• Geschenkgutscheine (Gift Vouchers) Standalone Waschbär gift vouchers that customers can purchase and redeem against the sustainable product assortment on the waschbaer.de online shop.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration26 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Frölich & Kaufmann Verlag und Versand GmbHcoreOthersWaschbär operates as a brand/trading name under Frölich & Kaufmann Verlag und Versand GmbH, which handles the publishing, mail-order, and e-commerce operations. This is the parent company that owns and operates the Waschbär brand.
• Ganske VerlagsgruppecoreOthersFrölich & Kaufmann is a member of the Ganske Verlagsgruppe, a media company headquartered in Hamburg that operates various publishing houses, trading activities, and digital media businesses. Waschbär operates under the umbrella of this publishing and retail group.
• AWINminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal affiliate marketing network used for tracking referrals from partner websites and managing affiliate commissions.
• Deutsche Post AGminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary shipping partner for domestic German deliveries. DPD used for oversized items (overformaté).
• CRIF Bürgel GmbH / Creditpass GmbHminorOthersCredit rating agencies used for checking customer creditworthiness when purchasing on invoice (for first-time orders).
• Noventiz GmbHminorOthersPackaging disposal service provider handling take-back and recycling of packaging materials without the Green Dot symbol, as required by German packaging regulations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Otto: Germany's largest online retailer with multi-category fashion, home, and lifestyle assortment plus an own-brand sustainability program. Comparable as a broad e-commerce platform increasingly active in the same eco-conscious categories.
• Tchibo: German multi-channel retailer combining weekly-rotating catalogs with online and physical coffee shops. Comparable multi-channel model and broad non-food household assortment, though with less sustainability specialization.
• Zalando: Europe's largest online fashion platform with an expanding sustainable lifestyle and home assortment. Comparable as a large e-commerce destination progressively overlapping with Waschbär's apparel, accessories, and home categories.

Direct peers

• Avocadostore: German online retailer specializing in sustainable and eco-certified products across fashion, home, and lifestyle categories. Closely comparable as a DTC eco-retailer targeting environmentally conscious German consumers with a broad, curated assortment.
• Hessnatur: Pioneer German sustainable fashion and home-textiles retailer operating through online and catalog channels. Direct peer given shared eco-positioning, catalog + DTC model, and overlap in sustainable living, textile, and household categories.
• memo: German mail-order and online retailer of ecological products. Direct peer given shared catalog + e-commerce model, sustainability positioning, and multi-category eco-assortment serving German households.
• Grüne Erde: Austrian/German sustainable retailer of furniture, textiles, and natural lifestyle products sold online and through a catalog. Comparable eco-positioning and catalog-driven multi-category assortment for the DACH eco-consumer.
• Manufactum: German retailer of high-quality, sustainable household goods, fashion, and food sold via catalogs, online, and physical stores. Comparable in sustainability mission, catalog heritage, and broad lifestyle assortment for discerning German consumers.

Regional players

• Klingel: German catalog and online retailer of fashion and household goods targeting a similar older, multi-channel DACH customer. Comparable catalog heritage and broad non-specialized household assortment.
• Baur: German catalog and online retailer of fashion, home, and lifestyle products. Comparable German catalog/online multi-channel retail model targeting mass-market households, though without the explicit sustainability positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/waschbaer_net
• Facebookfacebook.com/waschbaernews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/triaz-gmbh

Compliance4 records

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

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Waschbär