Who this is
Marlena Hien is the daughter of a Munich notary, studied communication science and spent about ten years at a small agency, in which she took a stake on her father's advice. In 2018 she co-founded Bears with Benefits with Laurence, who had hired her at the agency: high-dose dietary supplements in gummy form, launched on Amazon and built without venture capital. Today the brand makes 60 million euros in revenue across ten countries including the US and leads the supplement gummies category in Europe. In 2022 the founders sold to a French strategic buyer that is itself private equity backed, keeping a stake. Marlena has since stepped back from operations but remains the face of the brand, invests as a business angel with Laurence through Panda Ventures and teaches seminars at TU Munich.
Episodes
Numbers from the episode
FAQ
What is Bears with Benefits?
Bears with Benefits sells high-dose dietary supplements as gummy bears, for example with biotin for hair. Marlena Hien and Laurence founded the brand in Munich in 2018. Today it's available in ten countries including the US, makes 60 million in revenue and leads the supplement gummies category in Europe. To the episode →
In which order did Bears with Benefits build its sales channels?
Amazon first, then retail, then its own shop. After about four months on Amazon the brand won a Douglas startup competition and got a nationwide listing. dm, Rossmann and Bipa then approached the founders. The cash flow from retail funded the D2C shop, which launched shortly before the Covid lockdowns. To the episode →
Why didn't Bears with Benefits raise venture capital?
The founders talked to business angels and VCs, but half-heartedly, because they didn't need the money and wanted to stay independent. VCs asked why they were even profitable, and Marlena found the term sheets with liquidation preferences founder-unfriendly. Instead they used options such as a Covid KfW loan and revenue-based financing. To the episode →
How was the Bears with Benefits exit structured?
In 2022 the founders sold to a French strategic buyer, a brand house mostly of pharmacy brands that is itself private equity backed. The price was a mid eight-figure sum. One third was paid upfront, one third as an earnout on the following year's revenue with marketing costs capped at 35 percent, and one third was rolled over as equity. To the episode →
Which consumer categories does Marlena Hien find exciting today?
She looks for shelves that have looked the same for 20 years. Specifically she names oral care, personal care for tweens, meaning kids between 8 and 13, and supplements that accompany GLP-1 weight-loss injections and address side effects such as hair loss or muscle loss. Because of her non-compete she currently can't take pitches from supplement founders. To the episode →
Quotes
„Weil wer hat denn eigentlich die Marge? Meta hat die Marge, Influencer haben die Marge““Because who actually has the margin? Meta has the margin, influencers have the margin.”
„Also ich glaube, es ist leichter, denn je in Retail reinzukommen, schwerer, denn je dort zu bleiben.““I think it's easier than ever to get into retail and harder than ever to stay there.”
„Deswegen, am Ende sind Konsumgüter kein VC-Case.““So at the end of the day, consumer goods aren't a VC case.”
„Wenn du deine eigenen Operations nicht kennst, dann kannst du deine Firma nicht groß werden lassen, dann kannst du sie nicht skalieren.““If you don't know your own operations, you can't grow your company, you can't scale it.”
„you can have it all, but not at the same time.““You can have it all, but not at the same time.”