About Us
„Created by Barbers.“
The Charlemagne Story
Beards have been absolutely trendy for years. To convince yourself of this, you really only have to go outside or take a look at your Instagram feed. Charlemagne kills two birds with one stone and unites both under its brand, which pays homage to Charlemagne. However, it was a long road, including some setbacks, for the founders Sascha and Shain to have their own online store and barbershop, including a concept store. But let's start at the beginning.
At the beginning of Charlemagne Barber Ventures GmbH is a friendship. Shain Nikkhah-Eshghi was the owner of Kings Barbers in Aachen and the founder of the first proper barbershop in the city. His training as a barber even took him to Hastings, England, from where he then brought not only the courage to open his own store in Germany, but also barber skills that give his work a special touch.
Barber meets marketing agency
It's no coincidence that Sascha and Shain cross paths one day. Sascha is just starting his advertising agency, and Shain wants to market his barbershop. Supply meets demand. Through the intensive collaboration between Sascha and one of his first clients, informal conversations and ideas for joint business ideas arise. The two young entrepreneurs get along so well that they definitely want to build something together. But how would you bring a barber and a marketer together? At this time, beard care products in Germany are an absolute rarity, the music is playing in England. We are writing the year 2013. There is already a thriving market for such products. Without hesitation, Shain and Sascha order all kinds of beard oils and their ingredients from all over the world. These are meticulously examined for their individual ingredients, mixing ratios analyzed and compared.
They began working on their own formula—initially, just so Shain wouldn’t have to order his products from abroad anymore. Next, the born entrepreneurs ordered all the necessary ingredients from various chemical manufacturers. Unforgettable were the long nights in Shain’s basement, which functioned as their laboratory. The whole process already had a slight resemblance to the cult series Breaking Bad—though instead of drugs, they were creating fragrances and grooming products.
A lot of time passed, with Shain’s barbers and the customers of Kings Barbers serving as constant product testers. But in the end, the two became experts in the chemical composition of beard care products. This direct exchange with their target audience ensured a highly focused development process. The only limiting factor was that both pursued the project part-time—meaning, at night. Nevertheless, in 2016, the business partners founded Charlemagne Barber Ventures GmbH.
A Mix of Online and Offline Leads to Success
From the very beginning, Sascha and Shain placed great importance on high quality—not just in their products but also in their packaging. Charlemagne’s first product launch introduced beard oil in three different scents. Their initial idea of randomly sending sample sets to various barbershops turned out to be ineffective.
But then, things started looking up: Sascha’s marketing expertise complemented Shain’s knowledge, expanding the reach of his barbershop. On Instagram and Facebook, the brand quickly gained a significant following. Meanwhile, employees at Sascha’s agency, Bitzdesign, worked daily on sales, marketing, and PR strategies.
As demand grew, Charlemagne’s product range gradually expanded over the following months. In addition to beard oil, they introduced beard balm and wax. The next logical step was moving into haircare, as hair styling products were also becoming increasingly popular.
Initially, sales were conducted through Amazon; however, by 2018, their own online shop was launched. Until 2018, formulas and packaging were still developed manually. Every day after work, the two would meet to apply labels and ship orders. Fortunately, things are much faster and more professional today.
Now, Charlemagne is a full-time business. What started as an experiment has grown into a company operating across multiple channels: with its own studio for the Charlemagne YouTube channel and its own barbershop in downtown Aachen.
Of course, Charlemagne has also faced occasional setbacks and missteps. At one point, the production of 6,000 tins of pomade turned out to be a complete disaster because the consistency changed entirely due to the container. However, despite such setbacks, the startup continued to grow—both online and offline.
At the end of 2019, Shain closed his first barbershop, Kings Barbers, which had become overcrowded. Just one day later, on January 1, 2020, the first Charlemagne barbershop opened right next to Aachen Cathedral. This barbershop was the fulfillment of a long-held dream for Sascha and Shain. Kings Barbers had become too small for the growing number of customers, and the idea of combining a barbershop with their stylish brand had been on their minds for a long time.
Then, after many years, Sport Gruber vacated its space on Kockerellstraße at Aachen Market, presenting a unique opportunity: a massive barbershop spanning over 145 square meters across two floors—right next to a gin bar and a craft beer bar, in the beautiful old town of Aachen.
