It all started in 2019 with Benno, who was still living in his shared apartment in Cologne.
In addition to studying sports, he was a self-employed sports masseur and climbing instructor, as well as a route setter. And what do you need for these jobs? That's right! Functioning and healthy hands. But since bouldering and climbing in particular put a lot of strain on the skin and the magnesium (for grip on the wall) only makes the problem worse, a hand cream was needed that would solve these problems.
So Benno started looking
...for a sustainable and organic hand cream that would care for and heal his battered hands. But almost all creams in pharmacies and drugstores are filled in plastic tubes that end up in the yellow bag after being used once. Benno was also bothered by the fact that almost all creams contain "AQUA" as their first ingredient, i.e. water, and to find this out and decipher the other ingredients, you almost need a degree in Latin.
Solid, refillable, and made from only five organic ingredients.
No suitable hand cream was found. He therefore decided to produce his own hand cream for himself and his climbing community. In his shared kitchen in the Belgian Quarter in the heart of Cologne, he experimented and produced the first thumb treat: beeswax from a friend and various ingredients from the organic shop around the corner. It was so well received by his circle of friends that the first 12 thumb treats were sold out immediately.
It wasn’t just Benno’s friends who were enthusiastic about the product and its effects.
School friend Lennart and his brother Fritz were quickly on board and plans were made on how to not only produce and sell cosmetics, but also create social added value. The idea of a social business that focuses on real ecological added value has been at the core of the company from the start.
Creating social added value and profit through entrepreneurship
The Kiel University network with yooweedoo refined the idea of "social entrepreneurship" and soon Marc (Fritz's former roommate) was also enthusiastic. This is how the idea of leaving a meaningful impact that is tied to the product and not dependent on profit was born. As regionally, quickly and effectively as possible. A flower meadow to protect insects and bees was a natural choice, as organic beeswax is a main ingredient in the thumb feast.
Planting trees has long been an outdated marketing promise.
Flowering meadows, on the other hand, have a regional effect, quickly store CO2, provide a habitat for insects of all kinds and give the soil a rest. Many people are not aware that species extinction is the planetary limit that has already been exceeded the most (before climate change) and the consequences are unforeseeable.
The first production was set up in Westensee in the parental home of Benno and Fritz.
Not quite up to hygiene standards, but functional and inexpensive, the first production facility was set up and the thumb candy was produced on the weekend after university. At its peak, 400 pieces were produced a day. However, the first orders were already coming in (picture with stack of packages) and 30 bouldering halls needed to be served. For the first six months, Lennart, Benno, Fritz and Marc were producing almost every other weekend. From the beginning, the beeswax was supplied by Dorothea in Demeter quality.
The first own office with clean room production in Hamburg
The parents' house became too cramped, and the Daumenschmaus project took up too much time "on the side". So the jobs were quit, the final papers were written quickly and the move to the first office in Hamburg with its own production was due. At the same time, new products were developed, the impact model with the flower meadow donation was rolled out across Germany and 4peoplewhocare was founded as a GmbH.
11 employees, 350,000 square meters of flower meadow and 12 products
Our packaging now looks a little different.
Production has become much more professional over time and is still constantly being rethought and improved.
What else happened:
We have moved our production within Hamburg,
Since 2023, we have also been shipping our products to stores outside the DACH region and we are on the shelves in some large organic chains.
So we have been really busy, but we are also very grateful for your support in the form of reviews and purchases from us.
Here’s to many more years 4 people who care!
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.