Munich Startup: Who are you and what does Djoon do? Please introduce yourselves!
Djoon: Hi, we’re Djoon and our vision is to make everyone feel good about snacking. Which is why we’ve reinvented chocolate truffles, making them both super tasty and organic, vegan and without added sugar!
Our team includes Leon (28), Carolin (38) & Martin (39). Carolin and Martin are married and have three kids, and they met Leon while looking for a co-founder.
Munich Startup: What problem is your startup solving?
Djoon: We all have a sweet tooth, but conventional sweets unfortunately bring along a host of problems: too much industrial sugar, endless ingredient lists and unclear sources of supply, particularly of cocoa. We’re changing that: We use only vegan organic ingredients, a maximum of five ingredients for each type of truffle and everything comes from sustainable and partnership-based sources. But the most important thing is that our products taste really good, like a real treat (instead of like making a sacrifice).
Munich Startup: But that’s nothing out of the box!
Djoon: There are indeed already some organic sweets. But we decided to take on the pièce de résistance of all things chocolate: the chocolate truffle. And there’s actually nothing out there that could be compared with our Djoonies.
Djoon relies on handmade production
Munich Startup: Was there a point when you nearly failed?
Djoon: One of the most difficult points for us was deciding how and where our truffles should be manufactured. We talked with various subcontractors to begin with, but they either couldn’t or didn’t want to implement our concept. We then literally decided to take production into our own hands: Which is how we ended up making more than 100,000 truffles by hand with our team last year.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, and where in five years?
Djoon: In one year, we want to have tripled our output and to have gotten even more customers excited about our truffles. By that point, we also want to have expanded our range of products (Djoon spreads have already been available since November.)
In five years, we want to be known throughout Germany as a brand that offers sustainable, healthier and tasty sweets. We already have several ideas up our sleeve, so there’s a lot that can happen!
Munich Startup: What do you think about Munich as a startup location?
Djoon: We love Munich as a startup location. There are so many amazing and innovative food startups here that we’re in contact with. On top of that, the Food Startup Inkubator Weihenstephan offers an infrastructure that is unparalleled in Germany to food startups for starting initial production and expanding their networks.
Munich Startup: Facebook or TikTok?
Djoon: Facebook – at the moment, we’re reaching the majority of our customers on Facebook and Instagram. But we’re also thinking about expanding to additional social media channels, like TikTok, to connect with new customers and fans.