Die Höhle der Löwen new episode with guest Lioness Lena Gercke

Lena Gercke, the winner of the first season of Germany's Next Top Model (2006), sits in the lion's seat for the first time. Together with Judith Williams, Janna Ensthaler, Carsten Maschmeyer, Ralf Dümmel and Frank Thelen, she evaluates the pitches. In addition to everyday ideas and gourmet products, KRIOR founder Margarete Slim in particular provides some moving moments. Her story evokes personal memories of her own start-up days for Judith Williams.

Startup freshie: freshness for braces wearers

Hamburg founders Betti Heick (45) and Manuela Bauer (41) want to conquer a previously unnoticed market with freshie: products for braces wearers. Their gel in flavors such as mint, strawberry and cola provides pleasant freshness without water or brushes. According to the press release, xylitol also supports the oral flora. How exactly the sugar substitute is supposed to support the oral flora is a mystery to me personally. Xylitol or xylitol is better known as birch sugar and is a sweetener. Sweeteners are characterized by the fact that they do not attack the teeth as acids like normal sugar, but how this is supposed to support the oral flora is inexplicable to me. They are looking for 150,000 euros for 20 percent of their company.

New part of the battle pitch

In the current season, two start-ups have to prove themselves in a short pitch duel. Only one is then allowed to present its concept in detail. This time they are competing against each other:

• SwimPal from Cologne: an app for learning to swim (120,000 euros for 10%)
• NewLifeJobs from Berlin: a digital job placement platform for foreign skilled workers (350,000 euros for 12.5%)

NALU: Healthy fruit gums with no added sugar

Hamburg-based founders Lisa Bella Ippolito (23) and Max Schön (34) present NALU, fruit gums sweetened with fiber instead of sugar. With just 100 calories per bag and Nutri-Score A, they are positioning themselves as a healthy alternative. They are offering 100,000 euros for 10 percent of the shares in their vision. Guest star Lena Gercke in particular shows great interest in investing.

KRIOR: anti-ageing with cold serum

Karlsruhe-based founder Margarete Slim (43) presents KRIOR, an anti-ageing treatment: a freezable serum that is applied as an ice ball and is designed to reduce wrinkles, swelling and inflammation. With her passion and clean beauty approach, she wants to raise 180,000 euros for a 15 percent share in the company.

Delight yourself: the next planned taboo breaker

Sanja Zündorf (31) from Cologne wants to break a taboo with her start-up entzück dich selbst. She has developed a masturbation saddle for women that is based on the widespread but shameful pillow riding. With her bold approach, she is causing discussion and curiosity among the lions. Her offer: 150,000 euros for a 10 percent share.

From fruit gums to beauty ice balls, it's another wild mix in the show, which is primarily aimed at the end consumer. Start-ups certainly have their place, but perhaps it would be beneficial for the show to feature some start-ups that have the big picture on their radar. It could be just as exciting to show the subsequent due diligence and explain why exactly many of the deals have not yet been concluded.