IVARIO has Become Part of the GBA Group and is Striving to Expand Online Platform for Consumer Tests

IVARIO was founded in Hamburg by Saskia Gerber, Sascha Zielinski, and Söhnke Mücke in 2013. Today the company is Germany’s leading online provider of drinking water analyses for consumers. With IVARIO’s environmental tests, the company made it its task from the very beginning to provide consumers with a pragmatic, inexpensive possibility to conduct tests of their surroundings on their own and have them analyzed for harmful substances. After starting with a selection of drinking water tests, the product range grew with the rising demand. In additional to conventional drinking water tests, today their product range also includes a wide variety of tests of bacteria and other contaminants, as well as water analyses. In the future, the range should continue to be expanded to cover further aspects in the fields of consumer and environmental protection.

Steffen Walter, CEO of the GBA Group, sees very high potential in this merger: “We are glad that we are able to expand into this new field of business together with our colleagues from IVARIO. The combination of successful e-commerce and laboratory expertise at the highest level opens up new markets and provides us with new momentum! For the GBA Group, it is also one more important step towards further digitalizing our services.”

Even after the merger with GBA, the three founders of IVARIO are staying on board: while Söhnke Mücke will continue to serve as the CEO of the operative business, Saskia Gerber and Sascha Zielinski will be by his side working as consultants for the company. Söhnke Mücke: “Together with the GBA Group, we have the best possible opportunity to continue growing and to realize our diverse range of ideas for further development. With the strong GBA laboratories by our side, we will expand our service portfolio into further fields and provide the consumers with even more assistance.” Saskia Gerber and Sascha Zielinksi are also more than satisfied with this arrangement for the future. “It is nice to know that the company is in good hands,” expressed the two former managing directors.

Due to various reports in the media, the topic of tap water and drinking water quality has recently become a major issue among the German public. With their latest test results, the German consumer testing organization “Stiftung Warentest” spoke out in favor of drinking tap water. Especially in Germany, drinking water is very strictly monitored, however the quality of the drinking water that is supplied is only guaranteed up to the connection to the individual house. There are many risk factors even within housing units, such as outdated pipe systems or fixtures, which can release heavy metals or provide a substrate for bacteria to grow. This in particular is why laboratory water tests that individual consumers can carry out by themselves without any prior knowledge represent an important opportunity to check on their own. This is precisely where IVARIO and GBA come in, offering new possibilities for consumers with this merger.