The two students met in their second semester at the University of Hamburg: Jovanka Backhus and Randi Kittlitz are studying social economics there together, specializing in business administration and finance. “As part of the ‘Building a Startup’ seminar, we had to work on a business plan in groups. The idea had to be realistic for us: We pay attention to sustainability in our private lives, eat a vegan/vegetarian diet and are conscious in other ways too. Based on this motivation, we wanted to make a contribution to greater sustainability in society and ultimately came up with packaging. So we looked around our home to see where it was problematic or inconvenient: That’s how we came up with toothpaste,” reports Jovanka. The Hamburg-born founders saw great potential in toothpaste in particular, as the regular repurchasing of the often non-recyclable tubes leads to an extreme amount of packaging waste. A problem that the two founders want to tackle.

Complementary expertise regarding the business idea

“We are not from the packaging, pharmaceutical or cosmetics industry, but we are attentive consumers. We gathered the expertise that we lacked,” explains Randi. The first product from her young company “Jondi & Moon” is to be refillable toothpaste in a glass dispenser. In a Facebook group at the University of Hamburg, the founders found a pharmacy student who had completed his training as a pharmaceutical technical assistant. An initial suitable formula was then developed in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Hamburg. The lecturer at the seminar, Sven Niederhöfer, thought their idea was great and supported them accordingly. As a result, the start-up became more and more serious and concrete.

Solid support regarding business development

The first major hurdle for the startup was funding: “We already had a foundation in business administration from our studies. The start-up department at the University of Hamburg and the beyourpilot start-up consultant Dr. Bettina Otto (editor’s note: “beyourpilot” has been operating under the “Startup Port” brand since July 2023) provided us with further necessary know-how regarding the start-up. Together with her, we successfully applied for the EXIST start-up grant. Without this financial support, we would not have been able to start up. We also gradually made more contacts within the start-up scene,” Randi continues. When applying for the EXIST start-up grant, a funding program co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the two of them beat numerous other start-up ideas with their idea.

Various challenges during the start-up process

But everything didn’t always work out right away: the early days in particular were stressful: “From developing the toothpaste with an expert to glass design or good marketing strategies: Here and there we kept encountering new challenges that had to be mastered. And, of course, our studies continued on the side and wanted the appropriate attention,” Jovanka explains.

It was not easy to rely on outside expertise: “We were constantly asking ourselves whether everything was right. Or were they also reflecting their own interests and just trying to sell us something? What is the most sustainable thing? We had to do a lot of research and cross-checking because we didn’t want to be ripped off,” Randi reports. “The packaging industry is also often quite conservative and male-dominated. And there was often a significant age difference. It was a challenge to assert ourselves in the discussions. We were both previously employees and now had to negotiate as young female bosses. We weren’t used to that. Not everyone wanted the best for us and we had to stand up to them. That’s why the training we received through EXIST was invaluable, as we were trained in presentation, negotiation and team building,” adds Jovanka.

Learning the hard way

When asked what they would have done differently today, for example, Randi reports: “We initially worked with a product designer from our circle of friends. Unfortunately, because of our friendship, we took too big a leap of faith when it came to signing the contract. That really escalated and cost us a lot of money and nerves. Learning: You have to sign before the first work step! Protect yourself legally, no matter who you’re dealing with!” When mistakes were made, Randi and Jovanka often simply didn’t have the knowledge yet and were only able to find this out in advance to a limited extent. They would also have liked to have planned more of a time buffer to reduce stress. In terms of development, they advise letting go of the initial idea at some point in order to develop it further. It’s also okay to cut back from time to time in order to make progress. “And generally speaking: in the beginning, we took a lot of things personally because of our empathy. However, this has become less so over time, as we have learned more and are now more relaxed about many things,” says Randi.

Convincing consumers of a sustainable product

“I worked at H&M for seven years. At that time, the idea of trying to convince large corporations to be more sustainable already came up. The topic is also very present at the University of Hamburg nowadays. The more you learn about it, the more meticulous you become. Even we, who consider ourselves to be quite enlightened in this respect, were surprised at how much we can still do wrong or improve. The goal of Jondi & Moon is to convince consumers who are still sceptical about sustainable products. From disposable razors to tampons to plastic shampoo bottles: the cosmetics sector, for example, is full of various environmental offenders. But at least there is now environmentally friendly shampoo in one piece on the drugstore shelf. The situation is different with toothpaste tubes, however. The willingness to consume more sustainably already exists among a large part of consumers, but the market still offers a lot of room for plastic-saving products that are attractive to consumers in all aspects and guarantee a completely transparent supply chain,” Jovanka notes.

Zero waste’ as a long-term goal

“We both grew up in an environmentally conscious and modest household. In other words, a working-class rather than affluent household. This gave us direction and always grounded us, or rather kept us grounded – an important aspect in the wild startup industry,” explains Randi. The short-term vision of the two founders is to improve their product. The glass containers will later be replaced by reusable jars. In addition, a bag made purely from virgin material is used, which is to be replaced by recycled material in the future. Jondi & Moon also wants to establish itself in various sectors such as the hotel industry: “We would love to replace all these little jars! From hotels to airplanes, we believe that a lot of unnecessary waste is produced. That’s why we want to point out possible alternatives and change the market in this respect if possible. The long-term goal must be ‘zero waste’,” says Randi. Zero waste translates as: Zero waste. It means trying to produce as little waste as possible and recycle everything that can be recycled. It’s about reducing waste in your own household, in the office, on the road, but also across the country.

Convincing the masses of sustainability

The founders had their product launch on the first of December 2021. Corona has also affected their business: There were supply bottlenecks with regard to the material. In addition, the toothpaste in production had different properties to the sample. This delayed production, but they are satisfied with the final product. The two are optimistic about sales: “We are currently represented in four stores (Mimulus Naturkosmetik, Quiddje Design, Claudia May Concept Store and online at Gaiastore). Our aim is to reach the masses: It should be easy to live sustainably! Of course, we hope that many people will switch to our products so that we can reduce the amount of plastic waste. In the long term, the toothpaste in a jar should also be available from large suppliers such as drugstore chains,” says Jovanka confidently.

Further information about the startup Jondi & Moon can be found at https://www.jondiandmoon.de

The products of Jondi & Moon are available for purchase in the online shop.