Dr. Bronner’s Announces Leadership Transition in Germany and New Operational Structure for Dr. Bronner’s Europe GmbH
Dr. Bronner’s Engages Melanie Schriever and Mixed Greens GmbH to Lead Sales and Marketing in Germany Under an Independent Distributor Model
NEUSS, GERMANY—Dr. Bronner’s Europe GmbH, the European headquarters of the global top-selling organic and fair trade soap and body care brand, is announcing a change in leadership and structure. Axel Rungweber, the Managing Director of Dr. Bronner’s Europe, stepped down from his position of ten years on May 30, 2021. The primary function of Dr. Bronner’s Europe over the last ten years has been managing sales and marketing for the brand in Germany. Dr. Bronner’s President, Michael Bronner, who runs the company’s international sales and marketing division, will oversee Dr. Bronner’s Europe going forward with newly appointed Managing Director Anke Buhl, and transfer official exclusive distribution in Germany to Mixed Greens GmbH, an independent sales and marketing firm under the leadership of Melanie Schriever who is currently working as the Interim Sales Director of Dr. Bronner’s Europe for the German market. Schriever will officially take on the role of Managing Director of Dr. Bronner’s Germany when Mixed Greens GmbH takes over operations.
“For the last ten years, Axel Rungweber has lived and breathed Dr. Bronner’s. He built a strong foundation for our company in Germany, created a solid sales base, and assembled a brilliant team. We were saddened to hear of his plans to resign, but will be forever grateful for his contributions to our brand story and are heartened to know he will go on to do excellent work for the betterment of Spaceship Earth in his future endeavours,” said Michael Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s and grandson of company founder Emanuel Bronner.
Beginning September 1, 2021, Dr. Bronner’s sales and marketing in Germany will be run by Mixed Greens GmbH to align with Dr. Bronner’s international sales and marketing model of partnering with independent companies that serve as exclusive distributors for the brand outside of the US and Canada. To date, Dr. Bronner’s sales and marketing in Germany through Dr. Bronner’s Europe GmbH was the exception to this approach. This most recent transition will see the brand streamline its sales model across the world.
“Mixed Greens GmbH is a family-run company that aligns with our brand and mission on multiple levels. I am thrilled to partner with them and their amazing network to bring Dr. Bronner’s to new heights in the German marketplace,” Michael Bronner continued.
Dr. Bronner’s is sold in hundreds of retail outlets across Germany, including the chains Alnatura, DM, and Mueller, outdoor retailers such as Globetrotter, as well as hundreds of independent stores throughout the country. The top-selling, family-run, organic and fair trade soap brand in North America has been available in Germany for over ten years now. The company is known for its unique commitment to social justice, environmental sustainability, and progressive business practices such as the capping of executive salaries at five times the lowest-paid fully-vested position and donating all profits not needed for business development to causes and charities it believes in.
“Dr. Bronner’s is poised to continue to have great success in Germany. As a sales broker in Germany, I’ve watched this activist brand become widely known and loved by German consumers as the market for safe, ecological, and natural body care has exploded worldwide. Conscious consumers are increasingly concerned about climate change and social justice and want to support ethical businesses that prioritize positive impact. That’s Dr. Bronner’s through and through. What’s more is that when you purchase Dr. Bronner’s in Germany, you aren’t simply buying an imported product from the United States, but you are supporting a brand with deep roots as well as expansive community-focused aspirations here in Germany,” said Melanie Schriever, current Interim Sales Director at Dr. Bronner’s Germany and co-owner and Managing Director of Mixed Greens GmbH.
Dr. Bronner’s recently purchased the Bronner family’s ancestral home in Laupheim where the founder of Dr. Bronner’s grandfather, Emanuel Heilbronner, made soap in the basement in 1858. The home is under renovation now, and when completed will serve as a living and work space for special needs adults alongside a history museum highlighting Dr. Bronner’s German-Jewish soapmaking roots. In the spirit of its “fighting soap company” moniker, the activist brand is also investing in social justice, animal rights, and environmental causes in Germany through its “All-One Germany Initiative” that dedicates a minimum of 1% of sales to the German market each year to activist and charitable organizations, including Sea Shepherd, Karuna Berlin, PROVIEH, and the Transformation Haus und Feld project through Mehrwertvoll e.V.
“I’m thrilled to step into this new leadership role on behalf of Dr. Bronner’s in Germany and will continue to work alongside my amazing and inspired colleagues to help this extraordinary brand grow and flourish in the German market. We invite everyone to visit us at the Dr. Bronner’s ‘brand experience’ store in Berlin where you can feel the magic for yourself,” Schriever continued.
With the departure of Axel Rungweber as head of Dr. Bronner’s Europe GmbH, Anke Buhl, the current International Project Manager at Dr. Bronner’s Europe, who holds a PhD sustainable business administration, has been promoted to manage operations at the newly restructured company. Although sales and marketing within Germany will now be run by Mixed Greens GmbH, the subsidiary, Dr. Bronner’s Europe GmbH, will continue to serve as the importer of record in the European Union, and will transition its operations to act as a strategy and resource center for Pan-European marketing, activism, and regulatory affairs support. It will serve to strengthen the network of distributors Dr. Bronner’s has throughout the continent by leveraging synergies, aligning the brand, and building inter-country networks that will converge in an annual European Summit that Dr. Bronner’s Europe will host.
About Dr. Bronner’s
Dr. Bronner’s was founded in America in 1948, Dr. Bronner’s is the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America and a leading brand worldwide. The company is an independent, family-owned business based in California, committed to honoring the vision of founder Emanuel Bronner by making socially and environmentally responsible products of the highest quality, and by dedicating profits to help make a better world. Dr. Bronner’s commitment to social justice, environmental sustainability, and progressive business practices is part of the company’s mission to put into practice the “All-One” philosophy printed on the company’s iconic soap labels. The company caps executive salaries at 5 times its lowest-paid fully-vested position and donates all profits not needed for business development to causes and charities it believes in. Dr. Bronner’s generated over $190 million in revenue in 2020, and donated 40% of profits to activist and charitable efforts, totaling 8.6% of revenue. A bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap was sold, on average, every 1.51 seconds last year, and a bar of Dr. Bronner’s soap was sold every 2.83 seconds.
For further information, please visit: https://info.drbronner.com.