Australian government New packaging regulations have recently been introduced After an official review found that only 18% of plastic packaging is recycled, well below the target of 70% by 2025. Repackaged, a Sydney-based startup, wants to help with smart beverage dispensers, which are meant to be used with reusable bottles. Its mission is to rescue 1 million plastic bottles from landfill, and among its first clients is Google.
Refilled announced today that it has raised a seed round of A$1.3 million (about $845,000 USD) led by impact investor Melt Ventures, with participation from Envato founders Cyan Ta’eed and Collis Ta’eed. It will use part of the funding to manufacture 100 of its beverage stations, called Refiller, at its factory in Penrith NSW.
Used by organizations such as Google’s Sydney office, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Sydney, co-working space Aeona, and the Green House Tech Hub in Sydney, refills are installed in shared spaces such as gyms, universities and offices as an alternative to bottled and canned drinks . Machines. They offer carbonated and non-carbonated beverages in hundreds of flavors, with the option to add caffeine, vitamins, and nootropics. Across all locations where its dispensers have been installed, Refilled says it has saved 25,000 bottles since its launch in August.
Before starting Refilled, founder Ryan Nelson was a co-founder of Foodbomb, an Australian startup that assembles wholesale food supplies for restaurants. This gave him an insight into different challenges in the food industry. The idea for Refilled came when he was at the gym and couldn’t find a way to refill his water bottle.
“Instead, I was served rows and rows of drinks packaged in single-use plastic,” he tells TechCrunch. “I bought one, drank it straight away, and there was no recycling bin either. That’s when it occurred to me that this plastic bottle had only been used for two minutes and could be on the planet for 1,000 years. I started working on the refill that afternoon.”
Refills differ from standard beverage dispensers you can find in restaurants because they are designed for use in shared spaces, not just hospitality settings, Nelson says. It can take credit card payments, and tracks sales and CO2 levels in real time, so Refilled knows when to restock the device. Each machine can store 100 times more drinks than a traditional vending machine, and can be completely restocked in a shoebox, making delivery faster and cheaper.
Repackaged CTO Stefan Knight (left) and CEO Ryan Nelson (right) pose with one of the startup’s smart beverage dispensers
Five more refilling units are being installed this year, in addition to the 100 that will be manufactured. Refilled charges customers a small installation fee and then a monthly subscription cost of a few hundred dollars per device. Monthly fees cover restocking and maintenance. Still water is distributed free of charge, while flavored, caffeinated and sparkling waters cost about $1 each. Customers can also choose to let people use the device for free, for example as an office perk. Users can scan a QR code to track their environmental impact and see how many plastic bottles they’ve saved with Refiller, and they can purchase a Refilled+ subscription that lets them get every drink for less.
Repacked has two types of competitors. The first category is major beverage companies such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle. “We want to take market share from any beverage that is served in a plastic bottle or can, by being a green alternative,” Nelson says.
The second category is closest to Refilled and includes Bevi, Zip, and Billy Taps, which all make different types of beverage or water dispensers.
Nelson says flavors and user experiences are very different across these brands, and Refilled sets itself apart by offering all-natural, Australian-made flavours. It’s also designed for use in many different types of shared spaces, not just offices.
In a statement about the investment, Collis Tide said: “Sustainability alone is not enough to get consumers to change their behaviour. The brilliance of Refilled is that it uses a less wasteful model to give consumers a better, more affordable beverage experience. It’s a win-win.”