Krautkopf

What Krautkopf does

Krautkopf is a two-person photography and lifestyle studio based in Prebberede, Mecklenburg, Germany, operated by co-founders Susann Probst and Yannic Schon since 2006. The business offers professional photography and styling services for brands, manufacturers, editors, magazines, and publishers across food, lifestyle, product, interior, travel, and reportage categories, with a client roster that includes Manufactum, Le Creuset, Adobe, Ooni, Thames & Hudson, and Visit Sweden. Work is project-based and executed by the founding duo, limiting throughput and scaling capacity.

The studio monetizes through three revenue streams: (1) commissioned photography services billed as professional services; (2) the Krautkopf Lightroom Presets, a 25-preset digital pack for Adobe Lightroom (Classic, CC, and Mobile) sold for €49 as a one-time perpetual license via Digistore24 and direct website; and (3) cookbook royalties, with multiple award-winning titles including 'Vegetarisch kochen und genießen' (Deutscher Kochbuchpreis 2025 Gold, Deutscher Gartenbuchpreis 2026 1st Place), 'Zu den Wiesen' (2024 1st Place), and 'Erde, Salz & Glut' (2022 GAD Silver). The underlying 'technology' is photography craft and Adobe Lightroom tooling, not proprietary software or AI systems.

The business is privately held, bootstrapped, and founder-owned with no external investment, no parent company, and no disclosed employees beyond the two co-founders. Distribution is direct-to-consumer (website and Digistore24) and direct-to-enterprise (commissioned work), with marketing primarily organic through a bilingual German/English website, an Instagram presence (@kraut_kopf), and a regularly updated blog and Garden Diary. The company also runs workshops and on-site events at its 'settler house' studio in partnership with brands such as Manufactum and Blumenbüro Holland.

Name

Krautkopf

Legal name

Krautkopf

Website

https://kraut-kopf.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Krautkopf is a two-person photography and lifestyle studio in Mecklenburg, Germany, offering commissioned brand photography, a one-time Lightroom Presets digital product, and award-winning cookbooks. It serves lifestyle, food, kitchenware, publishing, and tourism brands across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Prebberede

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Commissioned Photography Services: Photography and styling services for brands, manufacturers, and editors for web, social media, print, and videography. Projects include product photography, lifestyle photography, interior photography, travel and reportage photography.
2. Lightroom Presets Digital Product: Sale of digital Lightroom preset packs through Digistore24 and directly via website. One-time purchase of preset collection.
3. Cookbook and Book Publishing: Published multiple cookbooks including 'Vegetarisch kochen und genießen' and 'Erde, Salz & Glut', and 'Zu den Wiesen'. Featured in books published by other publishers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Krautkopf is a photography studio and lifestyle brand operated by Susann Probst and Yannic Schon since 2006, offering commissioned photography and styling services for brands, magazines, and publishers. It sells a proprietary pack of 25 Adobe Lightroom presets for one-time purchase and publishes award-winning cookbooks focused on seasonal vegetarian cooking, gardening, and natural living.

Product overview

Krautkopf is a photography studio operated by Susann Probst and Yannic Schon since 2006, offering professional photography and styling services combined with a digital content ecosystem. The core offering consists of commissioned photography work for brands, magazines, and publishers across lifestyle, food, product, interior, and garden categories. Digital products include the Krautkopf Presets — 25 Lightroom presets sold as a downloadable software add-on for Adobe Lightroom (Classic, CC, and Mobile versions) enabling one-click photo editing with their signature moody, natural aesthetic. The content ecosystem also features multiple award-winning cookbooks (Vegetarisch kochen und genießen, Zu den Wiesen, Erde, Salz & Glut), a recipe archive, and garden diary content — all reflecting their photographic visual language centered on reduction, natural light, and seasonal rhythms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Krautkopf Presets: A collection of 25 Lightroom presets for moody photos, sold for 49.00 EUR. Includes 20 color and 5 black and white presets for Adobe Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, and Lightroom Mobile.

Products and services

• Krautkopf Presets A collection of 25 Adobe Lightroom presets (20 color and 5 black and white) for Lightroom Classic, Lightroom CC, and Lightroom Mobile, sold as a one-time digital download (49.00 EUR incl. VAT) to enable one-click photo editing with Krautkopf's natural, moody, analog-film-inspired aesthetic; includes .lrtemplate files for Lightroom 7.2 or earlier, .xmp files for 7.3 or later, and .dng files for Lightroom Mobile, plus a tool kit for contrast, tones, grain, and vignette adjustments.
• Commissioned Photography Services Professional photography and styling services for brands, manufacturers, editors, magazines, and publishers, covering concept development, on-site or studio production, and visual storytelling across lifestyle, food, product, interior, garden, travel, and reportage categories.
• Vegetarisch kochen und genießen (Erweiterte Neuauflage) Award-winning vegetarian cookbook (expanded new edition) by Susann Probst and Yannic Schon featuring seasonal recipes in rhythm with nature; winner of the Deutscher Kochbuchpreis 2025 Gold Medal, the Deutscher Gartenbuchpreis 2026 1st Place Best Garden Cookbook, the Stiftung Buchkunst 2016 selection as one of the 25 most beautiful German books, and the Literarischer Wettbewerb GAD 2016 Gold Medal.
• Zu den Wiesen Award-winning garden book documenting the creation and cultivation of the founders' kitchen garden in Mecklenburg; winner of the Deutscher Gartenbuchpreis 2024 1st Place Best Garden Photo Book and a Top 5 ranking in the Gartenbuchpreis 2025 Deutsche Gartenbaugesellschaft.
• Erde, Salz & Glut Cookbook featuring recipes with an emphasis on earth and fire cooking techniques; awarded a Silver Medal at the Literarischer Wettbewerb GAD 2022.

Named customers14 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ManufactumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration for product and lifestyle photography. Krautkopf documents Manufactum products and lifestyle content for web, social media and print. Multiple sponsored cooking events organized together at the settler house.
• AdobeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdobe collaborated with Krautkopf for content creation including the 'Your shot. Your story.' campaign where they documented food photography processes.
• Tollwasblumenmachen.de / Pflanzenfreude.deminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration with Blumenbüro Holland initiatives for sponsored events including the 'Apéro Botanico' botanical event featuring plants and flowers in a green oasis setting.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Smitten Kitchen: Long-running food and lifestyle blog with strong personal brand and cookbook publishing, similar to Krautkopf's combination of recipe content, signature photography style, and authored cookbooks for a dedicated audience.
• 101 Cookbooks: Vegetarian-focused food blog with a strong signature photography aesthetic and cookbook publishing, mirroring Krautkopf's combination of plant-based recipes, distinctive visual style, and authored books.
• Love and Lemons: Vegetarian-leaning food blog with strong photography, recipe development, and cookbook publishing. Comparable to Krautkopf in scope of activities, audience demographic, and brand-driven content model.
• Really Nice Images: Independent Lightroom preset creator selling moody, film-inspired editing packs for Adobe Lightroom — directly comparable to Krautkopf Presets in product format, target user, and pricing tier.
• The Defined Dish: Food blog with signature photography style, cookbook publishing, and brand partnerships in the lifestyle/food space — analogous to Krautkopf's blend of authored content, visuals, and commercial collaborations.
• Deliciously Ella: Plant-based food brand built from a blog with cookbooks, packaged products, and brand partnerships. Comparable to Krautkopf's plant-forward cooking focus, content-to-product evolution, and lifestyle-driven brand.
• Mastin Labs: Premium Lightroom preset brand selling signature photographic looks to enthusiasts and professionals. Directly comparable to Krautkopf Presets as a digital product business monetizing a specific aesthetic through Adobe Lightroom add-ons.
• Half Baked Harvest: Food blog with strong personal brand, distinctive photography, multiple cookbooks, and sponsored brand collaborations — closely comparable to Krautkopf's mix of content, publishing, and commercial partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• Food52: Large-scale food and lifestyle media platform with editorial content, community recipes, and product commerce. Comparable as a much broader incumbent in the same food/lifestyle content space, but operating at vastly greater scale.

Emerging players

• Nordic Kitchen Stories: European food and lifestyle blog with a nature-focused, minimalist aesthetic similar to Krautkopf. Comparable as a regional peer in the same niche of storytelling-driven food content, though smaller in scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/kraut_kopf
• Facebookfacebook.com/krautkopf.foodblog

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Krautkopf