Imagine a typical autumn evening. Screens flicker late into the night in Berlin’s co-working spaces, somewhere in the bowels of an old industrial building. This is where transformation really begins. Not at the conference table of the business world, but at the coffee machine, where visions are born. This is where the story of Startup Brand Ranking begins, a study that asks the same question every year: Which brands really inspire people, which startups really shake up everyday life?
Two teams, one mission
Jung von Matt START and Appinio are the brains behind the Startup Brand Ranking. Year after year, they immerse themselves in the world of young entrepreneurs, talk to real people and gather 10,000 votes. It is not a jury that decides, but the public. From Hamburg to Munich, from 18 to 65 years of age – a cross-section of a country that is currently ‘under construction’. But what does that actually mean when Germany is building and at the same time focusing on substance in its start-ups?
From hype bubble to substance
Like a hiker trudging through the thicket of buzzwords and business plans, the Startup Brand Ranking encounters brand stories that are not only loud, but also demonstrate consistency. Names such as KoRo, share and DeepL pop up again and again in the ranking – startups that win over their fan base not with huge advertising campaigns, but with trust and everyday practicality. Suddenly, it is no longer the quick hype that comes to the fore, but the slowly built trust. The audience wants real brands with attitude, not just new packaging.
Each brand is a chapter in the ranking
It almost feels like a novel in which each brand writes its own chapter. Food brands are the favourite protagonists: KoRo reigns supreme, share encourages social sharing, GREENFORCE and vly fight habits with functional food. In the Digital Consumer Services & AI sector, DeepL is closing in on the final as a true translation hero. MedTech start-ups such as dermanostic and Teleclinic provide information and speak plainly in a system full of paperwork and legalese.
The real twist: The rising stars
But the most exciting twists and turns are reserved for the rising stars. Here we see pick’em, the flavoured toothpick that made its way from the Lion’s Den into people’s hearts. EDURINO brings education directly into the nursery – not as a rigid curriculum, but as an adventure that even parents find exciting. nevernot shows that wellness is about more than creamy surfaces; it’s about closeness, community and honest conversations. The story told by the Startup Brand Ranking is one that rewards courage and celebrates diversity.
A thought for founders
The Startup Brand Ranking is like a treasure hunter digging through superficial glitz to find hidden gold. For anyone building a startup or working with a brand, the ranking is an eye-opener: it’s not the loudest advert that counts, but the voices of the people who really want to use and love the product. It’s the little anecdotes, the consistency, the humour at the community table, the honesty in every decision – that’s where the real magic of brand building in Germany in 2025 lies.
An insight at the end
The Startup Brand Ranking adventure is not over yet. There is room for new characters, new stories, new projects. Anyone who follows the ranking can sense that Germany’s brand landscape is vibrant, colourful and full of heroes, both big and small, who are changing the country on their own journey.