The 34-year-old Jan Budde delivers diet and vitamin products and expands his chain. He already had the idea as a student.
Hamburg. Jan Budde is an imaginative businessman. Already as a student he founded a small company and made sports and fitness his hobbies a part -time job. Budde bought dietary supplements and sold them. During his studies, Budde started in 1994 with his first own Body Attack brand. His subjects fishing industry, chemistry and biology helped him with his plans. "As an enthusiastic angler, I actually wanted to breed and sell fish," says the 34-year-old. Instead, he developed compositions for the special foods. "The recipes are all of me."
Body Attack Sports Nutrition is today a nationwide recognized manufacturer and representative of these nutritional supplements and diet and vitamin products. Budde and his employees deliver the goods to the football professionals of the HSV and the free hockey assasses of the Freezers. With the HSV, the sports experts have now released their own product line, which will be sold in supermarkets in the future. "This means that we are the first company from the athlete's food industry, the official nutrition partner of a club from the Bundesliga," said Budde.
EDEKA markets in northern Germany have also been supplied by Body Attack for several months. Fitness studios, sports clubs, pharmacies, wholesalers and various shops also run the brands of the Hamburg company, which offers 1800 different products. In addition, there are already 30 body attacks in Germany and Austria.
The next step of the expansion of Body Attack is now the expansion of the chain in the franchise system. Branches are also planned in Greece, Spain and Switzerland.
In view of this expansion, Body Attack was able to increase its sales by more than 30 percent in 2008. Managing Director Budde is also aiming for similar growth for this year. In Germany, only six percent of the population used the fitness drinks, powder or pills. It is 80 percent in the United States and 30 percent of the population in France are already buying these products. "There is still a lot in there," says Budde and smiles.
With growth, the number of employees is also increasing. 30 men and women are currently employed at the Hamburg headquarters. There are also colleagues in the shops. Two other colleagues are hired about every two months. "We are always looking for good people," says Budde, who employs his own cook for his employees. "The mood is crucial for good performances."
Body Attack has been writing black numbers since it was founded. "I've never taken out a loan," said Budde. "We were always able to finance growth from our profits." In addition, Budde runs the Buddy's pub on St. Pauli, a cell phone shop in Eppendorf and the Elbe master clothing mark. "I can live well from these income, so the other money could be invested."
Budde only bothers one thing in his success: "The dietary supplement industry still has a dirty image," says the entrepreneur. “More and more top athletes and even popular athletes are using the products. They also offer pharmacies. "
For security, Budde therefore has his powder, drinks and bars based on the Cologne list. In the list, dietary supplements with a minimized risk of doping are recorded. The Rhineland Olympic base provides top athletes and manufacturers to protect athletes from unauthorized doping allegations. With the entry in the list, manufacturers can make the ingredients of their products more transparent. Budde: "This is how we can prove that our deliveries have nothing to do with doping or other unclean shops."
09/29/2009, 6:00 am | Reading time: 4 minutes | From Sophie Laufer