Just Spices, the spices that are revolutionizing Spanish kitchens

They landed in Spain through social networks in March 2021. With a fun, original presentation aimed, above all, at young people who are passionate about gastronomy and also at beginners, the German firm

then began to market in our country its colorful jars with different mixtures of spices that had been successful in Germany for seven years.

On their Instagram and TikTok accounts, they suggested simple recipes seasoned with various seasonings rarely seen in our kitchen until now: for salads, for roasted potatoes, for chicken, fish, eggs, baked vegetables... they discovered everything. a world that provided a different (and less boring) touch to dishes thanks to mixtures of pure spices, aromatic herbs and 100% natural ingredients that do not have complementary additives.

In a few months, the number of Spanish followers on Just Spices networks began to increase (currently there are more than 500,000), just as the online sales of its flagship products skyrocketed, such as

,

or

This made Spain one of the countries where the company's business grew the most last year: 50% in just twelve months, according to Ole Strohschnieder, one of the three founders of the German firm and current head of marketing. , business development and IT.

"It was one of our big bets for the internationalization of the company; the Spanish market has enormous potential, due to the influence of spices in the kitchen and gastronomic culture," he says.

Ole Strohschnieder, one of the three founders of Just Spices.

The great (and rapid) acceptance of Just Spices by the Spanish public led the company to make the decision to distribute its products in physical stores only a year and a half after its presentation on networks.

Since the end of August 2022, the colorful jars of spice mixes have been

across the country with eight references, although four more have recently been added.

"In addition, shortly, we will also be in the Catalan supermarket chain

, with five flavors," says Daniel Zelaquett, the firm's financial and internationalization manager.

the beginning

The journey of this brand began in 2014 in a small apartment in the German city of Dormund, when Florian Falk, the aforementioned Ole Strohschnieder and Bela Seebach, three student friends at the university, were preparing to cook an Indian daal.

To do this, they went to the supermarket to find the multiple spices they needed for the recipe.

Upon arrival, they realized that not only were they very expensive, but their aesthetics did not invite them to buy either.

They knew nothing of this world, but they decided to embark on an adventure and market mixtures created by them that brought together all the necessary spices for their favorite dishes.

"

, with paprika, sea salt, parsley and chives.

My mother told me that nobody would use it because it didn't make any sense, but the truth is that it was successful and today it is still in the top 10 best-selling mixes," says Strohschnieder.

After the scrambled eggs, others arrived, such as the guacamole seasoning, the spicy turbo, the madras curry or the Italian seasoning.

And so on up to

To get the best mixes, they traveled around the world for a year meeting cooks from small towns, who introduced them to the art of choosing the best seasonings for each dish.

In a village near Naples, for example, they met Lucia, an authentic Italian

who owned a restaurant.

From her they learned her biggest secret,

, which served as the basis for the Italian seasoning, one of Just Spices best sellers.

Two of the founders of Just Spices on one of their journeys to discover spices.

Almost a decade later, Just Spices has become a benchmark in the spice mix sector in Europe, present in, in addition to Germany and Spain, Switzerland, Austria and the United Kingdom.

This year, they hope to enter the US market.

Its main differentiating element is that some of its products have up to 15 ingredients, all natural.

With a workforce of 170 people, the company had a turnover of close to 60 million euros in 2021.

The most popular

Among

are the avocado

(coincides with the best-selling internationally), a mixture that includes sesame, mild chili, sea salt and pepper, chicken seasoning, potato seasoning, Mediterranean vegetable seasoning , the pasta and the fish, as well as the pizza

and the porridge mix.

"70 percent of sales are directly to the consumer, via the web, while the remaining 30 percent occurs through stores," says Strohschnieder.

And it is that on the web, the client can get the 150 different mixtures of the brand in 50 g cans for an average price of 5 euros.

There are from traditional ones such as garlic and parsley or garlic pepper seasoning, others such as fajitas, couscous, zucchini seasoning, wok or mashed potato to some more rare such as sweet toast mix (dried fruit, banana and cocoa), croquettes, the coffee kiss, coconut porridge or the mix chai latte.

The company developed some

, such as the seasoning for paella, fish, croquettes or chickpeas, and some, such as the fish seasoning, are also marketed in Germany due to their success in our country.

How do you create the mixes?

"We have a team of researchers who are constantly aware of the latest trends in gastronomy and what people like to eat in other countries. This is how our bowl

was born, for example, a mix with 15 different spices for salads, rice or soups," says Strohschnieder.

Another source of inspiration is the public, "who gives us ideas, such as some of the sweet mixes, which we never considered making. For this reason, social networks are essential for us, because it is the way to be directly in contact with the consumer, who immediately gives us

. They even send us suggestions of what we can do".

That was the case with their successful tomato and mozzarella seasoning.

"We always ask our consumers what they like and, last year, one suggested us to make a tomato

with mozzarella, a dish that we hardly eat in Germany. We listened to him and now it is in the top 10 sales worldwide ", says the founder of the brand.

But sometimes they get too innovative: "We made a mix we call beet root latte that looked great because of the color, but we had to withdraw it because it wasn't selling for a month."

Another "very crazy" is the turmeric latte, to drink with milk.

"That one, surprisingly, still sells well," settles Strohschnieder.

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