Hellabrunn

What Hellabrunn does

Münchener Tierpark Hellabrunn AG operates Tierpark Hellabrunn, the world's first Geozoo (since 1928), a 40-hectare zoological park in Munich hosting more than 500 animal species from five continents and welcoming almost 2 million visitors per year. The company is organized as a German Aktiengesellschaft (AG) wholly owned by the City of Munich, evidenced by the Supervisory Board chair Verena Dietl (3. Bürgermeisterin of Munich) and CEO Dr. h.c. Rasem Baban; it is run as a non-profit institution whose mission blends recreation, environmental education, and species conservation — formalized through the 2015 opening of the in-house Hellabrunner Artenschutzzentrum (Species Conservation Center) and the cross-departmental Hellabrunner Naturschutz AG. The technology and platform layer is conventional and largely outsourced: a TYPO3-based website maintained by clickstorm GmbH, self-hosted Matomo 4.12.2 analytics with EU-only data hosting, Google Tag Manager, the "muenchen app" ticketing platform operated by München Ticket GmbH (with M-Login wallet for VISA/MasterCard payment), Podigee for the "Mia san Tier" podcast, and the FundraisingBox donation portal by Wikando GmbH.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid mix of one-time, recurring, and donation-based streams: day tickets and admission (gate and online), non-transferable annual passes (Jahreskarten), gift vouchers, bookable guided tours and special animal experiences (Tierparkerlebnisse), on-site gastronomy and zooshops, commercial photo/film licensing, mobile phone recycling in partnership with Deutsche Telekom/Teqcycle (Handy-Sammelaktion), and a new voluntary €1 "Artenschutzeuro" per-visit conservation contribution launched 4 May 2026. Corporate and individual giving form a second pillar: the Förderkreis (corporate sponsor circle from €600/year) operating since 1973, Tierpatenschaften (animal adoptions), private Förderkreis memberships, a Stiftungsfonds (endowment fund), and legacy/estate gifts, supported by 40+ international conservation partnerships (WAZA, EAZA, VdZ, Polar Bears International, Red Panda Network, Waldrappteam, ZGF, among others). Distribution is split between two on-site ticket counters, the muenchen app / hellabrunn.ticketfritz.de onlineshop for digital ticketing, and a direct corporate donor sales office, with a recent capital pipeline including the Dschungelwelt reopening (25 June 2026) and a planned Giant Panda enclosure (2028).

Name

Hellabrunn

Legal name

Münchener Tierpark Hellabrunn AG

Website

https://hellabrunn.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1928

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Münchener Tierpark Hellabrunn AG is a City of Munich-owned zoological AG operating the world's first Geozoo (since 1928) — a 40-hectare park with 500+ species, ~2M annual visitors, and a hybrid B2C/donation business model spanning tickets, annual passes, corporate sponsorships, and conservation programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Day tickets and admission: One-time entry tickets sold at the two zoo entrances and online through the muenchen app and hellabrunn.ticketfritz.de onlineshop. Reduced categories require verification at the cashier.
2. Annual passes (Jahreskarten): Non-transferable annual passes granting entry to the named cardholder until expiry date. Personalized to the owner, validated against server data; loss invalidates the card.
3. Gift vouchers / Gutscheine: Gift cards and vouchers sold online (hellabrunn.ticketfritz.de) for tickets, experiences, and special zoological experiences.
4. Corporate sponsor circle (Förderkreis für Unternehmen): Annual donations from companies starting at €600/year. Members receive tax-deductible donation receipts, name listing in zoo annual report and on info monitors, optional logo display, invitation to annual sponsor meeting, and use of the Förderkreis seal on corporate website/email signatures. Companies can deduct up to 20% of total taxable income.
5. Sponsorship (corporate): Corporate sponsorship of zoo activities leveraging Hellabrunn's positive image.
6. Tierpatenschaften (animal adoption): Individual animal sponsorships allowing supporters to sponsor a favorite animal.
7. Sponsor circle for private individuals (Förderkreis für Privatpersonen): Annual private donations supporting construction and maintenance of animal enclosures.
8. Endowment fund (Stiftungsfonds): Hellabrunn Zoo Endowment Fund preserves donations and generates perpetual annual income to support the zoo.
9. Legacies and bequests (Erbschaften): Gift-in-will program allowing supporters to leave a legacy to support biological diversity conservation.
10. Voluntary conservation contribution (Artenschutzeuro): Voluntary €1 per visit conservation euro introduced on 4 May 2026, enabling visitors to actively contribute to species conservation projects.
11. Guided tours and special zoological experiences (Tierparkerlebnisse): Bookable guided tours, keeper talks, summer BBQ predator tours, children's birthday parties, and corporate/family event hosting on the zoo grounds. Cancellation form available.
12. On-site gastronomy and zooshops: Restaurants, food kiosks, and zoo shops operating on park premises (beer garden, BBQ areas, etc.).
13. Commercial photography and filming permits: Paid written permits required for commercial photo and film shoots; photography workshops by external providers are prohibited without authorization.
14. Mobile phone recycling program (Handy-Sammelaktion): Recycling partnership with Deutsche Telekom AG / Teqcycle Solutions GmbH via Handysammelcenter. Hellabrunn receives cash donations from the recycler that go to Save the Drill e.V. conservation programs. More than 25,000 mobile phones collected between 2011-2021.
15. Charity shopping partnerships: Link-out shopping platforms (Gooding, WeCanHelp, AmazonSmile) generate partial purchase contributions to Hellabrunn as a beneficiary charity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Hellabrunn operates a 40-hectare zoological park (the world's first Geozoo since 1928) housing 500+ animal species across five continents, open 365 days a year. Core offerings include single and family day tickets, non-transferable annual passes, bookable guided tours and special animal experiences, the Tierparkschule (Zoo School) educational programs, on-site gastronomy and zooshops, and a corporate/private sponsor circle (Förderkreis) with annual donations starting at €600. Supporting activities include the Hellabrunner Artenschutzzentrum (Species Conservation Center) opened in 2015, the "Mia san Tier" podcast, animal adoptions, an endowment fund, legacy gifts, and species conservation partnerships across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mia san Tier: Hellabrunn's own zoo podcast ('der Zoo-Podcast aus Hellabrunn'), available via Podigee and US streaming platforms.
• Tierparkschule Hellabrunn
• Hellabrunner Artenschutzzentrum
• Artenschutzeuro

Products and services

• Tierpark Hellabrunn Day Tickets (Zoo admissions) Single and family admission tickets for entry to the 40-hectare Tierpark Hellabrunn, providing access to 500+ animal species organized by continent of origin. Sold at two zoo entrances and online via the muenchen app.
• Jahreskarte (Annual Pass) Subscription-based annual pass for the named holder, granting unlimited entry to Tierpark Hellabrunn during normal opening hours until expiry.
• Guided tours and special experiences (Führungen und besondere Erlebnisse) Bookable guided tours and special animal experiences including predator tours with summer BBQ, keeper talks, and children's birthday parties on the zoo grounds.
• Tierparkschule Hellabrunn (Zoo School) Environmental and biodiversity education program for school classes, kindergartens and youth groups, delivered from the on-site Tierparkschule building at Schlichtweg 13, Munich.
• Förderkreis für Unternehmen (Corporate Sponsor Circle) Annual corporate donation program (minimum €600/year, active since 1973) that funds construction and maintenance of animal enclosures and provides sponsors with visibility, brand association, and tax-deductible donation receipts.
• Förderkreis für Privatpersonen (Private Sponsor Circle) Annual private donor circle supporting construction and maintenance of animal enclosures, with member benefits including a personal annual pass and travel-cost reimbursement.
• Tierpatenschaften (Animal Sponsorships / Adopt an Animal) Symbolic animal adoption program allowing private supporters to sponsor a favourite animal, providing ongoing funding for animal care.
• Online Donations via FundraisingBox Online donation facility supporting SEPA direct debit and Sofortüberweisung payment methods, operated via FundraisingBox (Wikando GmbH) and integrated into the Hellabrunn website.
• Stiftungsfonds (Endowment Fund) Endowment fund that preserves donated principal and generates perpetual annual income to support Hellabrunn's animal welfare and conservation mission.
• Erbschaften / Vermächtnisse (Legacy Gifts) Legacy gift program allowing supporters to leave a bequest to support Hellabrunn's species and biodiversity work after their death.
• Handy-Sammelaktion (Mobile Phone Collection Campaign) Mobile-phone recycling campaign run in partnership with Handysammelcenter (Deutsche Telekom AG / Teqcycle Solutions GmbH) that yields cash donations per recycled device, forwarded to Save the Drill e.V. conservation programs.
• Online Gift Shop (Tierische Geschenke / Gutscheine) Online gift shop selling vouchers and animal-themed gifts, operated via the external Ticketfritz e-commerce platform linked from the zoo navigation.
• Voluntary Artenschutzeuro (Conservation Euro) Optional €1 per visit voluntary contribution that visitors can add when purchasing tickets, with proceeds supporting Hellabrunn's species conservation projects.
• Podcast "Mia san Tier" (Zoo Podcast) Hellabrunn's original zoo podcast covering animal care, species conservation and zoo news, hosted on Podigee and distributed on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast and Deezer.
• Hellabrunner Artenschutzzentrum (Species Conservation Center) Permanent and rotating exhibitions on biodiversity and species conservation, plus public lectures, located in the on-site Species Conservation Center at Tierpark Hellabrunn.
• Artenschutzbotschafter (Conservation Ambassadors Program) Volunteer ambassador program engaging adults (18+) who staff mobile information stands and support species conservation outreach, lectures, and event days across the zoo.
• Event hosting for families and companies (Veranstaltung im Tierpark) Venue hire for private and corporate events on the zoo grounds, managed through an online reservation flow.
• Commercial photo and film permit licensing Paid written permits required for commercial photo and film shoots on the zoo grounds, issued by the press office.

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration21 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

27 partnerships are on record.

• München Ticket GmbHStrategic or Co-development PartnerMünchen Ticket GmbH (Seidlstraße 30, 80335 München; Amtsgericht München HRB 10 60 18; CEO Stephan Rusch) operates the ticketing service within the muenchen app. Hellabrunn's online tickets are sold through this platform with M-Login account, VISA/MasterCard SSL-encrypted payment, and electronic ticket delivery with 14-day right of withdrawal for non-time-bound online purchases. Customer service channel for ticket issues.
• clickstorm GmbHTechnology or Integrationclickstorm GmbH (Altenburger Straße 13, D-04275 Leipzig) handles the technical implementation and support of the hellabrunn.de website. Provides ongoing site maintenance and development.
• Wikando GmbH (FundraisingBox)Technology or IntegrationFundraisingBox by Wikando GmbH powers Hellabrunn's online donation form with secure transmission of payment and contact data. Supports SEPA direct debit and Sofortüberweisung payment methods for donor transactions.
• Podigee GmbHTechnology or IntegrationPodigee GmbH (Revaler Straße 28, 10245 Berlin) hosts and analyzes the 'Mia san Tier' podcast. Provides audio file delivery, statistical evaluations, processing under Art. 28 GDPR DPA with Standard Contractual Clauses.
• Deutsche Telekom AG / Teqcycle Solutions GmbH (Handysammelcenter)Strategic or Co-development PartnerHandysammelcenter is a mobile device collection system set up by Deutsche Telekom AG and Teqcycle Solutions GmbH. Hellabrunn is a registered collection partner; cash donations received per device flow to Save the Drill e.V. conservation projects. Between 2011-2021 Hellabrunn collected 25,000+ mobile phones through this program.
• Stiftung ArtenschutzStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecies Conservation Foundation project partner for national and international species and nature conservation cooperation.
• Zoologische Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutz e.V. (ZGAP)Strategic or Co-development PartnerZGAP is a project partner for species and population conservation cooperation at national and international levels.
• Deutsche Wildtier StiftungStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner for species and nature conservation. Cooperates with Hellabrunner Naturschutz AG on local conservation measures.
• Deutscher-Wildgehege-Verband e.V.Strategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner for nature conservation and wild enclosure-related cooperation at national level.
• Die Isarfischer e.V.Strategic or Co-development PartnerLocal project partner for river/fisheries conservation connected with Hellabrunn's location on the Isar.
• Landesfischereiverband Bayern e.V.Strategic or Co-development PartnerRegional fisheries association project partner for fisheries and river conservation.
• EKKPS (European Kune Kune Pig Society)Strategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean association for the conservation of Kune Kune pigs; project partner for rare-breed conservation (GEH Arche-Park context).
• Kartoffelkombinat - der Verein e.V.Strategic or Co-development PartnerMunich-based farming cooperative; co-manages the Cottage Garden (Bauerngarten) in the Mühlendorf village of the zoo. Supports sustainable fruit and vegetable gardening in rotation.
• Rettet den Drill e.V.Strategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner dedicated to conserving drills (endangered African primates) in Nigeria and Cameroon; beneficiary of cash donations from Hellabrunn's Handy-Sammelaktion recycling program.
• Landschaftspflegeverband MittelfrankenStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional landscape conservation association partner (linked to Przewalski's horses at Tennenlohe Forest wild horse project).
• Sphenisco e.V. - Schutz des Humboldt-PinguinsStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner for Humboldt penguin conservation in South America.
• Fundación JocotocoStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcuadorian conservation foundation; project partner for species conservation in the Americas.
• Landesbund für Vogelschutz e.V. (LBV) MünchenStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional Bavarian bird conservation association; project partner.
• Pallas's cat International Conservation Alliance (PICA)Strategic or Co-development PartnerInternational conservation alliance for Pallas's cats; project partner.
• Polar Bears InternationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational polar bear conservation organization; project partner for Hellabrunn's Polar World activities.
• Red Panda NetworkStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational red panda conservation organization; project partner for Hellabrunn's Asia activities.
• WaldrappteamStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthern bald ibis (Waldrapp) conservation team; project partner.
• Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt (ZGF)Strategic or Co-development PartnerFrankfurt Zoological Society; project partner for species conservation globally.
• Die Umwelt-Akademie (e.V.)Strategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit association cooperating with Tierparkschule Hellabrunn on the 'Die Bio-Hofschule' educational project for sustainable development in Munich (announced 14 April 2026).
• GoodingGTM or Marketing PartnerCharity shopping platform supporting non-profit projects and organizations; Hellabrunn linked from its website so supporters can contribute partial purchase amounts to the zoo.
• WeCanHelpGTM or Marketing PartnerCharity shopping platform supporting educational institutions; Hellabrunn linked from its website so supporters can donate partial purchase amounts.
• AmazonSmileGTM or Marketing PartnerAmazon.com Inc.'s donation function; Hellabrunn linked from its website to enable donations from purchase activity.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Zoo Zürich: Zoo Zürich is a DACH-region municipal zoo of comparable size (~1.5M visitors), strong corporate sponsor ecosystem, ISO quality management, and similar species-conservation positioning. Direct peer for pricing, sponsor, and conservation-program benchmarking.
• Zoo Frankfurt: Frankfurt Zoo is another German municipal zoo with similar visitor scale (~1M visitors), WAZA/EAZA/VdZ memberships, ongoing enclosure development, and conservation programming. Direct regional peer for benchmarking German zoo economics.
• Tierpark Hagenbeck (Hamburg): Hagenbeck is Germany's largest privately-operated zoo with comparable scale (~2M visitors), similar geographic-continent storytelling legacy, and a parallel mix of ticket, sponsor, and on-site event revenue. Closest private-operator peer for revenue-model benchmarking.
• Zoologischer Garten Berlin AG: Berlin's combined zoo and aquarium is the largest animal collection in the world and Hellabrunn's closest direct peer — comparable urban German zoo with ~3M+ visitors, multi-revenue model (tickets, sponsors, donations, gastronomy), and major capital projects (e.g., giant pandas since 2017). Same regulatory context (WAZA/EAZA/VdZ) and similar municipal/governance structure.
• Zoo Leipzig: Leipzig Zoo is a German municipal zoo with comparable scale (~2M visitors), continuous multi-year master-plan capex (Pongoland, Gondwanaland), and similar revenue mix of tickets, sponsors, gastronomy. Direct operational peer for ticketing, conservation, and master-plan benchmarking.
• Tiergarten Schönbrunn (Vienna Zoo): Vienna Zoo is a comparable major European urban zoo operated as a GmbH with strong sponsorship and educational programs, ~2.5M visitors annually, and a long-standing Giant Panda exhibit since 2003 — directly comparable to Hellabrunn's pre-Panda positioning and forward Panda roadmap.

Regional players

• Artis Zoo Amsterdam: Artis is a Dutch urban zoo with similar historical founding era (1838), ~1.5M visitors, and comparable mixed revenue model. Serves a different geography but is highly relevant as a comparable European municipal zoo in a major capital city.

Broad incumbents

• Chester Zoo: Chester Zoo is one of Europe's largest charity-operated zoos (~2M visitors) with comparable species-conservation focus, education programming, and corporate-sponsor base. Useful peer for benchmarking UK/charity-style zoo economics and conservation partnerships.
• ZSL London Zoo: ZSL London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo, operated as a registered charity with comparable revenue mix (tickets, memberships, donations, corporate partnerships), major capital campaigns, and species-conservation mandate. Useful peer for benchmarking charity-driven zoo economics at larger scale.

Emerging players

• Pairi Daiza (Belgium): Pairi Daiza has rapidly scaled to ~2M+ visitors via themed immersive worlds (including a Giant Panda exhibit) and aggressive capex. Closest emerging peer benchmarking how a panda-led expansion can reshape zoo economics in a European context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/munchener-tierpark-hellabrunn-ag
• Xx.com/hellabrunn

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Hellabrunn