Kiel Start-up Spotlight: muditā turns saffron into a special everyday moment

Kiel’s greatest advantage is its proximity. Distances are short and the different scenes overlap: start-ups, design, academia, the food and drink sector, retail and culture quickly find common ground. For us, therefore, Kiel was not just a theoretical ‘ecosystem’ but a real-world testing ground: cafés, concept stores, markets, hotels and sauna partners have tried out our products, helped develop them further and have been reordering them for years.

What’s particularly valuable is that in Kiel you can gain visibility early on whilst remaining close to the people. The Muthesius University of Fine Arts has shaped the creative DNA of our founding team; initiatives such as opencampus.sh, the Waterkant Festival and Kiel Week have facilitated connections, feedback and wider reach. These relationships have given rise to a small, reliable community, which today forms the foundation for our next step beyond Kiel.

Our head office and organisational base are located on Jungfernstieg in Kiel. We manage our strategy, brand, sales and partner relations from here. We deliberately keep our operations lean and do not operate our own factory in Kiel; production is carried out by specialised, certified organic partners.

For us, the most valuable spaces were often our partners’ venues: local cafés and concept stores such as Phollkomplex, Chilli Vanilli and the food co-working kitchen Cocina became genuine product testing grounds. Events at starterkitchen.de, the Waterkant Festival and Kiel Week were vital for networking, raising our profile and gathering direct customer feedback. For us, therefore, ‘infrastructure’ doesn’t just mean an office or a production hall, but above all places where a product is experienced in real-life everyday situations.

Financially, Muditā was initially established primarily through its own funds, shareholder loans and private loans. Since 2026, micro-mezzanine capital from the Schleswig-Holstein SME Investment Company (MBG) has supplemented this foundation. This suits our current phase because it gives us time to carry out controlled market tests without forcing growth at any cost.

Equally important was the expert support. opencampus.sh and the Gründerlab, the Impact Factory, the Schleswig-Holstein Mentors and the Waterkant Festival network have supported us with feedback, contacts and honest questions. We were also supported by research partners during the early stages of product development, creative input from the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts, and specialist partners in production, food law, logistics, e-commerce and sales. Local cafés and retailers were also supporters: they didn’t just offer praise, but placed orders, tested our products and provided concrete feedback.

Above all, our mentors served as a useful mirror for us. They challenged our assumptions, helped us define our roles within the team more clearly, and forced us to explain our financing, pricing and distribution channels more clearly. This is particularly valuable when dealing with a new product category, because as a founder you spend a very long time working very closely with your own product.

Local networks also opened up new opportunities. A suitable personal recommendation for a café, a market or a specialist was often more valuable than a large, general mailing list. For us, however, the key point is this: a network is no substitute for a good product or consistent hard work. It becomes powerful when the issue at hand is specific and both sides know how they can help each other.

We did not start out as a traditional venture capital start-up. Muditā was built up through bootstrapping, our own funds, and subordinated shareholder and private loans. Since 2026, we have also received micro-mezzanine capital from MBG Schleswig-Holstein. To expand our direct sales, sales team and working capital, we are specifically engaging with business angels and strategic partners who, in addition to capital, bring experience in the food, retail or D2C sectors.

Our most important tip: don’t start with the largest possible figure, but with a clear milestone. What exactly is the money needed for, what is it intended to prove, and what decision follows afterwards? The financing instrument must be appropriate for the stage of development. For physical products, founders should also factor in production, stock and payment terms at an early stage; growth often ties up liquidity initially. And: it’s better to present figures that are modest but robust rather than large and in need of explanation. Up-to-date planning and a well-organised data room build trust.

The first major challenge was to turn a good recipe into a food product that could be reliably manufactured: shelf life, consistency, quality, packaging, certification, production and logistics all had to come together. The second was defining a new product category. Not everyone immediately understands what ‘saffron syrup’ tastes like, how little of it you need, and just how versatile it is. The third challenge is focus. With a small team, it’s not possible to maximise growth in online retail, the catering sector and food retail all at the same time.

Furthermore, as a food start-up, it is challenging for us that raw materials, packaging and production have to be pre-financed even before any turnover is generated, and that B2B orders are often seasonal and irregular. However, when a food product becomes part of everyday life and consistently delivers on its quality promise, it also has strong potential for repeat purchases. 

We have learnt to strictly separate proven results, assumptions and targets, and to openly acknowledge uncertainty. Whilst this may seem less spectacular in the short term, it provides a better foundation for trust in the long run.

Test with real, paying customers as early as possible. A compliment is nice, but a repeat order is information. Formulate a key learning question for each phase and invest only as much as is necessary to answer it reliably. Keep track of your cash flow, stock levels, outstanding receivables and contribution margins; with a physical product, working capital often determines the pace of growth sooner than the grand vision does.

Also: seek specific help. “We need contacts” is difficult to respond to; “We’re looking for two owner-run cafés in Hamburg to trial a saffron latte” is immediately actionable. And, whatever advice you seek, stay true to your own voice and approach. A start-up must learn without changing its identity with every new opinion.