Axel Kaiser declared war on the toothpaste tube more than 20 years ago. Since then, he has been selling “Denttabs”, an environmentally friendly alternative. He wants it to dominate the market one day.
It could be a typical start-up. The backyard in Berlin-Mitte is currently being spruced up in beige tones, after the third archway only a sign next to the red metal door reveals that a company called “Denttabs” is based here. In the entrance area of the old building, young men in caps lean over a communal desk, coffee mugs and post-its convey work and new beginnings. The fact that everything is a little different here becomes apparent when Axel Kaiser comes out of his office. Bald head, a few wrinkles around his eyes, red leather jacket, a shirt with a plant pattern: Kaiser could own a men’s fashion boutique or run an advertising agency. He doesn’t look like a start-up or a pharmaceutical company. But Kaiser has been a kind of Don Quixote of oral hygiene for more than 20 years. Every minute he says things like: “Toothpaste is history anyway.”