Developing innovative business models and rapidly commercializing them - that's where we want to support innovators. Our innovation activities focus on building growth topics as well as a systematic innovation process enabling us to quickly develop, pilot, and launch business models on the market.
Our Mission
The focus of our innovation activities is on the development of growth topics through the targeted promotion of K+S intrapreneurs. We leverage the know-how and innovative strength of K+S employees providing them with methods and programs for the development of ideas and business models in a protected environment. Projects with a promising level of maturity are supported with additional competencies and measures during scaling.
These activities are complemented by our start-up program, in which we combine the power of in-house innovation with the agility of start-up culture through partnerships with external start-ups. At the ROOTCAMP, the Spinlab Innovation Hub in Hanover, we bring together internal and external innovation drivers to generate new ways of thinking.
The Innopark Sigmundshall (near Hanover) complements these activities by providing ideal conditions for giving innovative technologies the opportunity to be further developed, tested, and adapted to industrial production in our own production halls.
Besides the commercial goals, we also consider ourselves as transformers driving cultural change at K+S.
A strong program for employee innovation
We support intrapreneurs from the generation of ideas to the final business model and thereby rapidly turn company-owned innovations into reality.
The start-up innovation hub for AgTech and Bioeconomy
As a founding partner of ROOTCAMP in Hanover, we support start-ups in the agricultural and food sectors in a structured process from the initial idea to the scaling of their products and services.
How we promote our employees' ideas
K+S actively promotes the ideas of its employees. We support intrapreneurs from the generation of ideas to the final business model and thereby rapidly turn company-owned innovations into reality.
With the K+S Kickbox to the first prototype in 10 weeks
If K+S employees have an innovative idea, they receive the K+S Kickbox. It provides motivation, instructions, and guidelines for a 10-week process. Rapid feedback plays the central role here. In this way, employees pass through short development cycles in which they repeatedly review their intermediate steps up to the finished prototype. The credo here is: Fake it 'till you make it.
Presentable results through customer feedback
The prototype is the basis for customer interviews. In this way, the innovator receives prompt feedback from the target group and can make valid statements concerning the customers' interest in his solution.
Finally, the results have to be prepared and presented to the management. If the idea is convincing, K+S sets up an innovation project and, as a "corporate start-up", the employee is then given the opportunity to advance his project to market maturity in ROOTCAMP.
Implementation in ROOTCAMP
The implementation of promising ideas happens in the RootCamp, in which the idea provider receives the best possible support and initial project budgets.
ROOTCAMP offers suitable coworking rooms as well as a professional network and ecosystem for intrapreneurs. The ROOTCAMP team supports the projects with many years of experience in providing advice and assistance. The "corporate start-ups" receive intensive coaching, mentoring, a project budget to lead their innovation projects as well as the opportunity to meet other startup founders and professionals from their field.
Supporting the world's most innovative start-ups in scaling up
As a founding partner of ROOTCAMP, the Startup Innovation Hub for AgTech and Bioeconomy in Hanover, we support agrifood start-ups in a structured process from idea to scaling their products and services.
A growing world population needs smart, new approaches to feed humanity in the future and at the same time protect the resources of our planet. This is why we want to create a fertile environment with ROOTCAMP and cultivate the spirit of innovation.
Together with other strong partners from industry, research and development, we support start-ups with smart ideas for securing the world's food supply.
A professional team assists the start-ups in the creation of business models and provides them with the precise knowledge they need to successfully implement their business idea.
Together, we generate added value for all parties involved.
Advantages of joining ROOTCAMP´s Programs
- Personalized coaching
- No participation obligation or program costs and a budget of up to 50.000 euros
- Pilot project with K+S
- Access to an international network of experts, mentors, and investors
- Inspiring office space
- and much more
Topics and projects
Pilot projects are an essential component of our collaboration with international start-ups. We believe in the principle of "learning by doing" and therefore want to implement projects together with start-ups. ROOTCAMP supports us in structuring these projects and driving them forward. Each project is unique and therefore receives individual support from one of our employees. In this context, cooperation at eye level with the founders is particularly important to us. Following a successful initialization of the projects by ROOTCAMP, it is our goal to continue the cooperation bilaterally in the long term.
Aquaculture
Explore new business segments
Digitalization
Develop a fertilizer recommendation system
Do you have any questions? We're here for you.
Our team is open to partnerships and is interested in continuously expanding our network.