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US actors Melissa McCarthy wanted the jewelry from Bruna, Westwing founder Delia Fischer likes to present the gold jewelry on Instagram and supermodels such as Emily Ratajkowski and Candice Swanepoel ask about the Austrian label's necklaces and earrings.
Behind the 16-month-old start-up is a young founding couple.
Helena Milchrahm and Simon Rupp are both 29 years old and have been a couple for about nine years.
They got to know each other during their studies.
Rupp studied business administration, milk cream politics with a focus on sustainability.
After completing their master’s degree in 2018, they went on a trip around the world together, and in Tahiti they met pearl growers: There, the farmers mostly throw away misshapen pearls, the two Austrians say.
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So they bought a bag for about 70 euros and started designing jewelry at home.
The foundation stone for her label Bruna was laid.
Bruna wants to be a sustainable brand
“It would never have occurred to me to found a company,” explains Milchrahm in an interview.
"There weren't any entrepreneurs in my environment, so that wasn't an issue."
The couple took their savings, looked for a jewelry maker, bought materials and created designs.
A year later, in September 2019, the shop went online.
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Bruna wants to be a sustainable brand: the founders use recycled 925 sterling silver, which was removed from washing machines or laptops, and then coat the jewelry with old gold, usually 18 carats.
The pearls and gemstones come from Tahiti, India and Australia and are remnants that the breeders have sorted out.
However, the start-up cannot trace where the precious metal comes from.
Sustainability is more expensive
Environmentally friendly packaging is now considered good form, but there are hardly any sustainable jewelry labels in German-speaking countries.
The two-year-old Wildflowers from Mainz, for example, has a tree planted for every order.
Fejn from Cologne of the same age also relies on recycled precious metal.
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However, the brands do not come close to Bruna.
The start-up also owes this to its celebrity fans.
The breakthrough came in March 2020, say the founders.
At that time, the first celebrities showed the jewelry on Instagram, linked to each other and sometimes asked for copies themselves.
Victoria's Secret model Emily Ratajkowski, for example, with her 27 million followers or the supermodel Ashley Graham with 12 million subscribers.
“That rocked up from month to month,” says Milchrahm.
Instagram is their most important marketing channel, so the company can also be reached by an international audience.
The jewelry start-up itself only has 50,000 fans on the social network.
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The young company now sends "thousands of orders" every month.
The 29-year-olds don't want to be more specific.
They also don't want to reveal exactly how much Bruna converts.
In the first financial year, i.e. September to December 2019, the start-up was still in the red.
"We are bootstrapped, so we had to be profitable quickly," says the founder.
Now they would be writing profits.
A simple gold-plated chain costs around 85 euros from the Austrians, while hoop earrings with pearls cost 129 euros.
Because the start-up uses recycled materials, the raw materials are more expensive to buy than gold and silver straight from the mine.
The Austrians did not want to use pure gold, otherwise the jewelry would no longer be affordable and the hurdle of buying such products online would be too high.
Bruna has the company headquarters with her parents in the village
Milchrahm creates the designs for the necklaces, earrings and rings.
The founder does not have a design education.
But even as a child she designed clothes with friends and made necklaces out of shells: “Somehow I always had the topic in me,” she says.
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A small family-run goldsmith in Italy produces the jewelry, a service provider in Austria stores and dispatches the goods.
The couple now has two employees, but the team only takes care of the operational business and marketing.
The Austrians registered their company in Styria, in the small village of Pöllau.
Because the two of them did not have a permanent residence after their trip around the world, they registered Bruna at the address of Milchrahm's family.
The founders now live in Vienna, and their office will also be there.
The small team is currently working from home.
They don't think it's a bad thing that Milchrahm and Rupp founded as a couple and that the start-up is currently also using their free time.
It is more important to "bring your shop out of its infancy", as they say.
So far, she has been rewarded with success.
Sofia Richie, influencer and daughter of singer Lionel Richie, has recently shown herself with the jewelry on Instagram.
Followers: Almost seven million.