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Meet Germany’s Unicorns Post 2: Berlin Brands — Founder Interview

Updated: Apr 30

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.

What Is This About?

Berlin Brands Group runs a portfolio of direct-to-consumer eCommerce brands with a vertically integrated model. This German Unicorns profile examines how BBG acquires, builds, and scales consumer product brands entirely through digital channels — reaching unicorn status in the process.

  • This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.

  • This is a new blogpost series of short posts to introduce you to the unicorns in the German-speaking startup scene.

  • Berlin Brands Group (BBG) runs multiple eCommerce brands with a direct-to-customer distribution approach.

  • Berlin Brands Group is active in 28 countries and develops, designs, and manages 3.

  • Mostly the growth of Berlin Brands was funded with their own cash flow but in 2015 the private equity house Ardian bought 40% of the company.



New Blog

Meet Germany’s Unicorns Post 2: Berlin Brands — Founder Interview Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.


This is a new blogpost series of short posts to introduce you to the unicorns in the German-speaking startup scene. We will first start with the 25 official unicorns in Germany. Note that all those companies are privately held and therefore don’t need to publish lots of information. This explains the 2nd group we will cover, what we call the shmaybe-corns, which are startups rumored to be unicorns or close to the status. We will then go on to introduce you to startups from Austria and Switzerland, who have reached unicorn status and some that are no more unicorns (either they got listed, merged, or went out of business).


Berlin Brands Group (BBG) runs multiple eCommerce brands with a direct-to-customer distribution approach. They are active in sounds, lights, home, and living, as well as consumer electronics. The company was founded in 2005 by Peter Chaljawski as Chal-Tec GmbH. Peter was before selling electronics for events on eBay, which lead him to found Chal-Tec, followed by his own online shop in 2006. Chal-Tec set up a joint venture in Central Europe in 2012. Berlin Brands was set up as an umbrella out of Chal-Tec in 2019.


Berlin Brands Group is active in 28 countries and develops, designs, and manages 3.700 products with around 900 employees. They have six locations, including their headquarter in Berlin, Kamp-Lintfort (logistics center), Bratislava, Istanbul, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. Some of their brands are:

  • Klarstein, a brand under which they offer household electronics, from wine coolers to ACs, to outdoor grills https://www.klarstein.de/. According to the interview with Kassenzone (in German, Link below), Peter expects Klarstein to generate 2022 300 mn Euros revenues, generating approx. 50% of the revenues of BBG.

  • Capital Sports, a brand to enable you to build your own home gym, from clothing to dumbells and even large workout gear https://www.capitalsports.de/

  • auna, a brand for audio products from radios, to karaoke machines to sound speakers and even car audio https://www.auna.de/

  • blumfeldt, a brand for outdoor products like garden furniture, garden decor, fireplaces, outdoor heaters, and so on https://www.blumfeldt.de/

  • Numan Audio, a brand for audio lovers selling loudspeakers, audio systems, and the like https://www.numanaudio.com/


Mostly the growth of Berlin Brands was funded with their own cash flow but in 2015 the private equity house Ardian bought 40% of the company. Ardian is based in Zug, Switzerland, and was founded in 1996 by Axa, which spun out of Axa in 2013. Bain Capital bought this stake from Ardia in October 2021, injection equity and debt capital of 700 mn US$, valuing the company at the time at 1,2 bn US$. The capital will be invested in the eCommerce activities of BBG.


In November 2021 Ardian bought again shares of BBG worth 100 mn Euros. Peter Chaljawski gave an interview in German Handelsblatt stating, that they want to use these funds to buy up successful Amazon sellers (Link). The majority of the company’s equity is still held by Peter and his management team, as of November 2021.


As of January 2021, Amazon was the most important platform to sell its products on (Link). Unfortunately, we are unable to find a recent and good interview of Peter in English. Also, not a lot is known about Peter, we could only find that he started selling on eBay at 19 years old. Here is a good interview in German with eCommerce podcast Kassenzone from Peter (Link).


BBG bought in September 2021 Ogrance Brands, a company “selling direct to customers via Amazon” (Link).


Unicorn Lead Investor: Bain Capital


Other articles of this series:


Sources:






What Is Berlin Brands Group?

Berlin Brands Group (BBG), founded by Peter Chaljawski, is a German D2C eCommerce unicorn running multiple brands — including Klarstein (household electronics: wine coolers, ACs, outdoor grills) — across 28 countries with 3,700 products and approximately 900 employees. The company grew primarily through cash flow before PE house Ardian first invested in 2015, then bought an additional €100M in shares in November 2021. Amazon was BBG's most important sales platform as of January 2021.

Introduction

This second installment (alternate version) of Startuprad.io's "Meet Germany's Unicorns" series profiles Berlin Brands Group (BBG). Founded by Peter Chaljawski, BBG runs a portfolio of D2C eCommerce brands across 28 countries. The flagship brand Klarstein sells household electronics from wine coolers to air conditioners and outdoor grills. With 3,700 products and around 900 employees, BBG stands out as a cash-flow-funded success story — growing organically before PE house Ardian invested in 2015 and then doubled down with a €100M share purchase in November 2021. Amazon was the primary sales channel as of January 2021, reflecting the D2C-meets-marketplace reality of modern eCommerce.

Berlin Brands Group is a rare German unicorn built primarily through cash flow rather than venture capital. Founder Peter Chaljawski developed a portfolio of D2C brands — led by Klarstein in household electronics — that operates across 28 countries with 3,700 products and ~900 employees. The company's growth attracted PE house Ardian, which first invested in 2015 and then acquired an additional €100M in shares in November 2021. Despite the D2C positioning, Amazon remained the most important sales platform as of early 2021, highlighting the platform dependency challenge even for unicorn-scale D2C brands.

  • BBG manages 3,700 products across 28 countries with approximately 900 employees — a massive D2C operation.

  • Flagship brand Klarstein sells household electronics including wine coolers, ACs, and outdoor grills.

  • BBG grew primarily through cash flow — a rare bootstrap-to-unicorn story in Germany.

  • PE house Ardian first invested in 2015, then purchased additional €100M in shares in November 2021.

  • Amazon was the most important sales platform as of January 2021, showing D2C-marketplace platform dependency.

  • Founder Peter Chaljawski gave an interview in German Handelsblatt about the company's trajectory.

Entities Referenced in This Episode

People

  • Peter Chaljawski — Founder of Berlin Brands Group, interviewed in Handelsblatt

Companies & Investors

  • Berlin Brands Group (BBG) — D2C eCommerce unicorn, 28 countries, 3700 products, ~900 employees

  • Klarstein — BBG's household electronics brand (wine coolers, ACs, outdoor grills)

  • Ardian — PE house, first invested 2015, additional €100M shares Nov 2021

  • Amazon — Most important sales platform for BBG (as of Jan 2021)

Media

  • Handelsblatt — Featured Peter Chaljawski interview

Topics

  • D2C ecommerce, brand portfolio, cash-flow funded growth, PE investment, Amazon platform dependency, household electronics

Relationship Map

  • Peter Chaljawski → founded → Berlin Brands Group

  • BBG → owns → Klarstein (household electronics) + other brands

  • Ardian (PE) → invested in BBG → 2015 first, €100M additional Nov 2021

  • BBG → sells primarily via → Amazon (most important platform Jan 2021)

  • BBG → operates in → 28 countries with 3,700 products, ~900 employees

Quote Highlights

  • Berlin Brands Group manages 3,700 products across 28 countries with approximately 900 employees — a massive D2C operation.

  • BBG grew primarily through cash flow — a rare bootstrap-to-unicorn story in Germany.

  • PE house Ardian first invested in 2015, then purchased additional 100 million euros in shares in November 2021.

  • Amazon was the most important sales platform as of January 2021, showing D2C-marketplace platform dependency.

Related Episodes on Startuprad.io

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What is Berlin Brands Group?

Berlin Brands Group (BBG) is a German D2C eCommerce unicorn founded by Peter Chaljawski. The company manages 3,700 products across multiple brands — including household electronics brand Klarstein — in 28 countries with approximately 900 employees.

What is Klarstein?

Klarstein is the flagship brand of Berlin Brands Group, offering household electronics including wine coolers, air conditioners, and outdoor grills. It's one of several brands in BBG's D2C portfolio sold primarily through Amazon and other online channels.

How was Berlin Brands Group funded?

BBG was primarily funded through its own cash flow — a rare bootstrap-to-unicorn story. PE house Ardian first invested in 2015, then purchased an additional €100 million in shares in November 2021, reflecting the company's continued growth trajectory.

Who is Peter Chaljawski?

Peter Chaljawski is the founder of Berlin Brands Group. He built the company into a unicorn primarily through cash-flow-funded growth, and has been profiled in German business publication Handelsblatt.

About the Host

Joern "Joe" Menninger is the host of the Startuprad.io podcast and covers founders, investors, and policy developments across the DACH startup ecosystem. Through more than 1,300 interviews and nearly a decade of reporting, he documents the evolution of the European startup landscape. Follow Joern on LinkedIn.

Support Startuprad.io

This founder profile is part of Startuprad.io’s coverage of Germany’s most significant startup success stories. If your company wants to reach founders, investors, and operators across the DACH startup ecosystem, we work with a select number of partners on high-trust visibility and thought-leadership formats. Explore partnership options here: Partner with Startuprad.io

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