Leandro Burguete is one of three founders of the food startup Haferkater. The decision to hand over the company into responsible ownership was not an easy one for the founding team, he says. Haferkater, Getty Images / Zocha_K, collage: Dominik Schmitt
It was the question about the future of the company that gave the three founders of Haferkater pause some time ago. Large financing rounds, a brilliant exit: “At the beginning we wanted to achieve all of this,” says co-founder Leandro Burguete in an interview with Gründerszene. “But over time we realized what that would mean.”
Haferkater initially started in Berlin in 2015. At that time, the focus of the startup was the fresh preparation of porridge, i.e. oatmeal. With different toppings and no additives, Haferkater wanted to offer a good and healthy breakfast. And, if possible, beyond Berlin: In 2017, the three founders Anna Schubert, Leandro Burguete and Levin Siert brought their first strategic investor on board for this purpose: Katjes Greenfood. In 2021, the food manufacturer Zentis also joined. With the help of the capital, Haferkater expanded his business. The startup can now be found at many train stations in Germany. In addition to porridge to go, travelers can also buy other vegetarian snacks or coffee there.
Update from April 29, 2024: Katjes has officially announced that she is leaving Haferkater. According to an ad hoc announcement, the company sold around 25 percent of shares in Haferkater GmbH and achieved a net cash flow of around 2.5 million euros. In doing so, Katjes is fulfilling the founding team’s wish, the report says, to “follow examples like Patagonia’s and lead the company on an independent path in the long term.”
“A bad system for everyone involved”
A year and a half ago, Burguete and his two co-founders made the decision to buy Haferkater back from its investors. At some point they simply realized that an exit for Haferkater was not a desirable goal, says the founder. Especially when it comes to scaling a company as efficiently as possible, it often becomes more difficult for companies to stick to values. And especially in the catering industry, tough economics often mean low wages, cheap goods and strong cost controls, says Burguete. These are all the consequences that the founders of Haferkater don’t want to live with.
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In addition: “There is no comparable company that we would like to sell to,” says the founder. There are three or four large listed players on the market that would even be considered. “And they have enormous pressure to reduce operational costs. From our perspective, this is a bad system for everyone involved,” said Burguete. In any case, in the course of these considerations, the founders realized that they actually didn’t want to sell their company at all. “It’s not just business,” says Burguete. “We are also emotionally connected to oat hangovers. We can’t imagine giving it up like that.” Haferkater should move on differently instead.