Germany’s Sykell (Berlin; www.sykell.com) said it has secured EUR 4.5 mn in additional growth capital for its Einfach Mehrweg (Simply Reusable) system for refillable cups and trays.

Sykell reported that the latest round of funding, which was exchanged for shares in the company, came from Swiss venture capital platform Collateral Good Ventures (Zurich; www.collateralgoodventures.com), German waste disposal contractor Interzero (Berlin; www.interzero.de), and German retail chain Rewe, which already had a minority stake in the start-up founded by Davide Mazzanti in 2021. The companies agreed not to disclose the size of their holdings.

Sykell’s system is based on the pay-per-use principle. Partners only pay for containers that are brought into circulation. Cleaning and logistics are already included in the price.

The 16-strong team headed by Mazzanti and managing director Michael Kappler intends to use the fresh capital not only to produce additional reusable containers but also to further expand the IT platform for inventory management and deposit accounting. “Our customers can use the platform for booking and managing their orders in full and also for analysing their performance”, a company spokesperson told Plasteurope.com.

Sykell said its reusable containers are produced in Germany but declined to disclose the manufacturer of the company’s reusable tableware. Its beverage cups are available in sizes of 200, 300, and 400 ml for a EUR 1 deposit, with resealable food trays priced at EUR 1.50 for 500 ml and EUR 2.50 for 750, 1,100, and 1,200 ml.

A special feature of the system is that the containers and cups can be returned just like deposit bottles via the participating partners’ existing nationwide network of reverse vending machines, the company said. “The current machines do not need to be converted to take the containers – they are recognised from their combination of size, shape and coding.”

Apart from Rewe and its food retail outlets, service station chains such as Eni, Avia, and Oil are already using the system. Suppliers like Sykell are benefiting from the requirement to offer reusable packaging that has been in force in Germany since 1 January 2023, as is Munich-based deposit system operator Recup (www.recup.de).