Carrara Culture Of Care

What comes to mind when you hear the name Carrara? Perhaps Italy, Tuscany? Or even the famous white marble? But probably not toothpaste!

Yes, you heard that right. Founders Lukas Federhen and Nino Lemmer are dealing with a very ordinary - almost boring - dental care product in their start-up Carrara Culture of Care, but they give it an unprecedented luxurious flair.

How did you come up with the idea for "Carrara Culture of Care"?

Nino and I had been self-employed for several years before Carrara Culture, I was a DJ and Nino had built up a company in the logistics industry. However, during the first Corona lockdown, like many others, we lost many orders, so we used the newfound time for extensive walks and runs together. Conveniently, Nino and I were neighbors at the time and quickly became friends through this connection. As is often the case, we talked about everything under the sun during our walks and eventually asked ourselves the question: What can be improved about toothpaste? There is a premium version of almost every personal care product, but there is no luxury segment toothpaste.

What is behind the idea of "Carrara Culture of Care"?

We have developed a high-quality dental care product that focuses on the lifestyle aspect. The special feature of our toothpaste is the marble dust it contains, made from real marble from the Italian city of Carrara. This naturally ensures white teeth without chemical whitening. Of course, all other ingredients are also of high quality, the toothpaste is vegan and free of microplastics. We developed the formula together with an established cosmetics manufacturer in Stuttgart, where we also produce and distribute the toothpaste.

What was the decisive moment that led you to start the company?

When you deal with your start-up idea and visualize it more and more concretely, the idea of starting a business gradually creeps in. At some point, we realized that it would actually be a shame not to try. In April 2021, the time had come.

How does your collaboration work?

Nino and I are both CEOs. As a trained wholesale and foreign trade merchant, Nino is adept at negotiations and also has great expertise in logistics. I handle marketing. Nowadays, Nino lives near Hamburg again, while I work from our office in Siegen. Currently, we don't see each other in person very often, but that's not really necessary for the business, as we can organize most things digitally.

What challenges did you face when starting up?

Due to the bureaucratic jungle, it is very difficult to start a company in Germany. I think most of the formalities are unnecessary and could be simplified.

Furthermore, we both come from industries that have absolutely nothing to do with cosmetics, so we had to start by building our contacts and networking.

How did you finance your start-up?

We financed ourselves exclusively from our own resources. Because we were both self-employed before, we were able to set aside some initial capital. Also, we don't pay ourselves a salary but rather reinvest this money into the growth of the company, as we can live quite well from our other jobs. A 14-hour day is not uncommon for us, but since I enjoy it so much, it's not a big deal.

What drives you?

Personally, I enjoy seeing that our product is distributed all over Germany. When you see that something is happening and your own idea is bearing fruit. Furthermore, it excites me when our customers enjoy the product.

What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?

You should bring a lot of energy and have the drive to want to see the thing through. Starting a business takes time and sweat, but if you have courage and perseverance, it's worth taking that step.

Where do you sell your toothpaste?

We sell online, but we also focus heavily on point of sale. We are not found in traditional drugstores but in brick-and-mortar retail. Private perfumeries, boutiques, or concept stores offer our product. We place great value on physical retail because trained cosmetologists and experts can best explain the high quality of our product there.

Where do you want to develop in the future?

We will continue to focus on dental care. In the future, new flavors are planned as well as the design of a toothbrush.

This portrait is based on an interview with Lukas Federhen in January 2022 and was written by Janice Gust.

 

Here for the homepage of the start-up.