About Us

Welcome to our UniBaersum: 10 years of Buddha Bears & Co.
This year we celebrate 10 years of Buddha Bears and Mindsweets! Thank you for your contribution! Buddha bears, chocolate shamans, lucky liquorice and all their siblings only exist thanks to all of our enthusiastic fans with a sweet tooth! Of course we have a few surprises for you in this anniversary year: a new website, Buddha Bear relaunch in autumn and new delicious vegan goodies. Come and discover new vegan delicacies all through the year.

mind sweets - sweets for the mind?
Exactly, that’s what we mean! We are Buddhists with heart and soul, therefor mindfulness, love and respect towards every living being and the environment are the essence of our being. So we have come up with the idea of ​​making sweets for the mind -  what we mean here is consciously, mindfully and slowly enjoying delicious sweets  while also giving the mind a break from its continuous circling :-) On every packaging there are short texts of wisdom as an inspiration for the mind. You may contemplate on its meaning while you enjoy a Buddha bear with all your senses – relax, indulge, ahhh. This is so good.

What does mindsweets stand for?

  • meditasting: We encourage conscious, mindful eating and consumption. With the help of a manual on each of our packaging you can practice mindful eating. We also offer you a playful instruction for a meditation with Buddha bears, Chocolate Shamans, Lucky Licorice & Co.
  • vegan - Animal Welfare & Health: we do not use animal ingredients – all our products are vegan as well as gluten and lactose free. We also omit additives such as artificial flavors, emulsifiers etc. No hidden ingredients or so-called processing agents.
  • organic Food - Environment Protection & Sustainability: we offer only ORGANIC certified products and thus support organic farming. We maintain long-term, fair and trusting relationships with our business partners, suppliers and customers. Our goal is to support a healthy economic and social climate in which everyone can thrive.
  • social Commitment – Working with handicapped people & Sponsoring: our products are prepared and packaged for shipping in Berlin, in a facility that occupies mainly disabled people. The handicapped people love our bears - not only because they taste good ;-) Sponsoring for good causes, that is what makes us happy: We give our sweets among many others to social institutions, to vegans non-profit associations and to a children’s hospice in Berlin.

Who are we?
We are a team of 4 cheerful Buddhists, located in Berlin-Kreuzberg. In addition to our work for mindsweets, we do voluntary work in social or Buddhist institutions. We love our work and the Buddha bears :-) Founder, inventor and mainstay of mindsweets is Arne Schaefer, who in his free time teaches meditation in the Kwan Um Zen school and he is a trained coach. He loves being creative for mindsweets: most of the product ideas, pictures and texts originate from him.

Can we do without plastic?
We try that! Our Chocolate Shamans are sealed in cellulose film, which is made of wood and is biodegradable. Gummy bears and fruit gum sticks, on the other hand, have to be packed 100% airtight so that they do not lose moisture and aroma. Up to now, there is no biodegradable, 100% airtight packaging on the market- except glass. Selling gummy bears in glass is no option as it is very energy-intensive: melting glass to make new glass requires far more energy than melting plastic to make new plastic bags. In addition, the transport of goods in heavy glass consumes significantly more fuel than the transport of goods in plastic. However, we keep looking for 100% airtight packaging that is light, biodegradable and environmentally sustainable.

How do you finance yourself? Is there an investor behind you?
We finance ourselves 100% from equity, i.e. there is no investor who claims returns. We finance everything ourselves. So we are independent and can grow  according to our own healthy pace.