Masks #PivotMasters

Masks have been compulsory nationwide since the end of April. The need for masks has thus expanded from the medical sector to the everyday use of everyone. Some start-ups were brave and entered the market early on, even though their actual product range is completely different. As a result, start-ups of all kinds are now becoming mask producers through pivoting. In the first part of our #PivotMasters series, we would like to introduce you to some of the pioneers.

Von Jungfeld & Bewooden

The sock producer and the manufacturer of wooden accessories were among the first companies to switch their production to the manufacture of respirator masks. Henrik Roth, co-founder and Managing Director of Bewooden, explains how this came about in an interview with Wirtschaftswoche. On March 16, the Czech Republic declares a lockdown and both local BeWooden stores have to close.

BeWooden also records the first declines in the online store, but there is no talk of a similar situation in Germany yet. Meanwhile, demand for face masks in the Czech Republic is rising rapidly.

Bewooden reacted dynamically and decided to have 200 masks made by local seamstresses and donate them. They report on the donation campaign on Facebook. After that, they could hardly keep up with the requests, and the company received around 150,000 requests for masks.

These quantities can no longer be handled in their own factory, so the company launches a call for help: anyone who has a sewing machine at home should help sew. With the help of volunteers, production increases to around 500 masks per day.

Meanwhile, the BeWooden founders decide to sell the masks in Germany too. A second fashion start-up is found via theEntrepreneurs Organization, which is ready to lend a hand: The Mannheim-based "Von Jungfeld" founders known from the "Lion's Den". They are actually known for their fashionable socks and have a broad network of sales and production partners. Together, the two start-ups have managed to expand their mask collection to a production capacity of 25,000 masks per week.

The masks are produced in collaboration with local sewing workshops and manufacturers, who are grateful for this unexpected order. Normally, the seamstresses would be sewing dirndls for the Oktoberfest, for example, but demand has collapsed due to coronavirus.

The online store also offers the opportunity to donate masks to people in need. Groups of people who urgently need a mask then receive these donated, so-called soli masks, for free.

trigema

Germany's largest manufacturer of sports and leisure clothing also wants to help and is switching its production to masks at short notice. The company wants to produce around 100,000 masks per week. Trigema is very transparent about the production of the washable and reusable masks and has published a video about their production. With a hefty price tag of €12/unit, these masks belong to the high-price segment, but trigema stands for German brand quality and fair production in Germany, so we think such an investment is worthwhile.

Fitz and huxley

The Berlin backpack manufacturer wants to support Berlin tailors who are struggling with lower order numbers due to the crisis by selling masks. At the beginning of the crisis, they thought about how their start-up could also make a contribution and quickly decided to work with local tailors. The masks are available in the online store from €7. The company also sends a free mask with every order of its products.

Born for life & andmetics

The companies born for life and andmetics, which otherwise manufacture medical products for babies and hygiene products, are now also producing and distributing masks.

Juniqe

The e-commerce start-up juniqe offers particularly stylish face masks. Various colors and designs are available here. In addition to a donation to the association for every second mask sold #Europecares the artists who contributed to the design are also supported.

Re-nt

If you want to support the "Doctors without Borders" project when buying masks, it is best to buy your mask from re-nt, where €5 from every mask sold goes to the aid organization. The prices range between €18 and €35

Oderso

Youtuber and musician Fynn Kliemann also produces masks with his fashion label. And for €2.20 per mask if you buy them in packs of ten. For quantities of 100 or more, the price drops to €0.98 per mask, which are primarily intended for institutions such as kindergartens or retirement homes. Kliemann has currently purchased fabrics for the production of around 10 million face masks.

We hope we were able to give you a few ideas and show you how good things can come out of the crisis. With this in mind, #maskup and stay healthy!

That was part #1 of our "Pivot Masters" series. Next week, we will focus on the topic of "Disinfectants" in the second part.