Parenthood and the Need for Smarter Fitness

With two kids and a life abroad in China, far away from family support, co-founder Carlos experienced firsthand how little time remains for sport. For many parents, home workouts became the only realistic option. After his wife’s pregnancies, the importance of sport after birth became even clearer. Women want to rebuild strength and stability, but most tools on the market were impractical or uninspiring. Heavy bars felt inconvenient, while stretch bands were awkward and unappealing.

Designing a Better Solution

As a designer, Carlos began experimenting at home in 2022. He 3D-printed models, tested shapes and connections, and refined them through more than twenty revisions. Feedback from friends and design insights helped turn his idea into what would become variva 01. Along the way, “kid-proofing” also became essential (his kids had already used the prototypes as slingshots).

A Parallel Journey: Active Aging and Independence

Back in Germany, co-founder Sören faced his own challenge. After being in Shanghai and Berlin, he had came to Cologne to be closer to his aging parents. It quickly became clear that staying mobile and independent in later life is harder than most people think. Everyday movements: stretching, balancing, simply maintaining strength, showed him how vital the right tools are for active aging and long-term independence.
With a background in Architecture, years of experience leading international teams and running his own company, Sören combined his fascination for design with a strong drive to turn insights into practical solutions.

When Two Paths Came Together

When business travel brought Sören back to China, visiting Carlos was always a highlight. The two met two decades ago during an internship in Spain and supported eachothers careers ever since.
They often exchanged ideas, but it wasn’t until November 2024 that Carlos shared his prototypes openly and suggested starting a company together. Sören immediately recognized the potential for aging societies and how the system could support people like his parents.

From Recovery to Rehabilitation

Later, during his own knee recovery, Carlos discovered another use: rehabilitation. In physiotherapy, exercises were often done with elastic bands tied to wooden racks,  awkward and uncomfortable. Variva offered a smarter, cleaner alternative that worked just as well for recovery as it did for daily fitness.

Our Mission: Sport and Recovery for Every Stage of Life

This shared journey: from postpartum recovery, to supporting aging parents and rehabilitation, shaped not just a product, but the foundation of the variva brand.
Rooted in personal experience and refined through design, variva makes sport and recovery simpler, smarter, and more enjoyable at every stage of life.

Putting People First

At the core of variva lies a simple conviction: design must serve people first. Every product is created with one guiding principle: to make movement as natural, safe, and accessible as possible.
Unlike existing solutions, each variva tool is developed from the ground up, rethinking familiar equipment to remove friction and improve the user experience. The goal is always the same: intuitive, supportive and effective equipment that makes training feel effortless.

Details That Matter

This philosophy shows in the smallest details. Handles are shaped to mirror the natural form of the human grip, as in variva 02 and variva 03. Holding the product feels effortless, intuitive, and secure.
On variva 01, the front and back sides are clearly distinguished through haptic features. Even users with reduced eyesight can navigate the tool with confidence and focus fully on their exercise instead of the handling. The result: less energy wasted on the equipment itself, more directed towards movement and recovery.

Inspired by the Human Body

Variva’s design language draws inspiration directly from the body it serves. Strings represent muscle fibers, symbols of both flexibility and strength. Their intersections and repetitions reflect the very structure of human musculature: resilient, functional, and dynamic.
At the same time, these patterns can also be read as growing trees, echoing variva’s harmony with nature.

Comfort and Effectiveness

Beyond form, variva products are carefully balanced in weight to support optimized usage. Every piece is designed to enhance comfort and effectiveness in each training session, whether for strength, recovery, or everyday movement.

Redefining Home Fitness

Variva is more than design details. It is a vision for how fitness should fit into real life. Too often, training tools are bulky, complicated, or uninspiring.
Variva is different: equipment that is simple, safe, and enjoyable to use at home, supporting every stage of life and every member of the family. By combining thoughtful design with safety and functionality, variva redefines what home fitness can be.

Our Aim: A New Standard for Movement

Variva aims to shape a new standard for home movement: practical, inclusive, and inspiring. By challenging conventions and focusing on people’s real needs, variva creates tools that make movement accessible. Every day, for everyone.

Our Commitment: Healthier Lives, Healthier Planet

From the very beginning, variva was built with a clear commitment: if we are designing tools to support healthier lives, they must also respect the world we live in. Sustainability is not an afterthought – it is part of our DNA.

Responsible Manufacturing

Variva products are produced in China, where specialized small-scale factories bring decades of experience and outstanding execution quality. These partners were chosen not only for their technical expertise but also for their ability to guarantee safe working environments and fair labor standards. Responsibility extends across the entire supply chain.
Thanks to the founders’ long-standing ties to China, these high standards are ensured without middlemen. Both Carlos and Sören know every partner personally, maintain transparent exchanges, and regularly check conditions on site.

Recycled and Recyclable Materials

Materials are a crucial step in our design process. The solid plastic components of variva products are made with 50–100% recycled material, depending on the colour, without compromising quality.
For silicone elements, up to 20% recycled content is used. Carefully balanced to maintain the chemical stability needed for long-lasting performance.
Beyond durability, every part is designed with end-of-life in mind: plastics and packaging are kept free from unnecessary material blends, making them nearly 100% recyclable.

Sustainable Packaging and Logistics

Distribution was also planned with sustainability at its core. By centralizing packaging, warehousing, and logistics in Germany, variva reduces transport distances and keeps emissions in check.
Packaging itself is made from responsibly sourced materials, reflecting the same philosophy of simplicity, function, and circularity as the products inside.

Everyday Responsibility

At headquarters the commitment continues: powered by self-produced solar energy and with business travel reduced to the minimum, variva ensures sustainability is practiced every day.