The "Zero Waste" philosophy applied to 7 business ideas

Too Good To Go: The fight against food waste

Defender of Zero Waste for years, Madeleine Rugeroni is involved in the project as Country Manager in Spain and Portugal Too good to take away, the world’s largest B2C marketplace for surplus groceries. This Spanish entrepreneur works to reduce food waste around the world by helping retailers like restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets and hotels sell surplus food that would otherwise go to waste. With data from the same 2021, Too Good To Go has saved more than 80 million food packages, more than 40 million users and more than 100,000 establishments in 15 different countries have joined the initiative.

Too Good To Go originated in Denmark and entered the Spanish market in September 2018 to raise awareness and help stop the number of food waste. In our country, it has a community of more than 3 million users and more than 9,000 collaborating entities, which has already saved more than 3.9 million food packages in our country. Users receive delicious food at a reduced price.

Go Zero Waste: a card for consumers

They present themselves as a start-up “with clout that develops products and services to facilitate and support people, companies and communities on their way to zero waste”. Founded by Martin Morato Y Magda Cebrian Go Zero Waste has created a card to make shopping easier for all those consumers who want to join the zero waste philosophy based on reducing consumption, reusing and recycling.

The card is offered through an application that already includes more than 4,000 physical businesses in 35 countries where you can make bulk purchases or sustainably produced items. The app also classifies businesses by theme and location to encourage consumption by small local businesses. In the two years of its existence, they have already achieved more than 30,000 downloads of the application.

Hero Deodorant, a smart deodorant

hero deodorant is the world’s first plastic-free smart deodorant. Its anti-odor action lasts between 3 and 7 days without the need to reapply even after a shower or a dip in the pool. Hero deodorant directly kills the bacteria responsible for sweat before odor sets in, without clogging pores like antiperspirants or inhibiting an odor once it’s created like deodorants. The most revolutionary thing is that it is no longer a product for daily use, a single application per week can even be enough,” he explained.to the Meritxell trainsCo-founded the project along with Anna Arque.

Hero deodorant is 100% free of harmful substances, vegan and plastic-free. It is a dense and soft, dry and non-greasy cream that absorbs immediately without leaving any residue on the skin or clothes. Its formula contains no fragrances, perfumes or essential oils and is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive and/or atopic skin.

To minimize the use of plastics generated by personal care products (more than 400 million tons per year), this smart deodorant is sold in an aluminum can that is recyclable with an approximate lifespan of 4 months per unit.

Circoolar: zero-waste workwear

Founded by entrepreneurs Celina Tamagnini Y louis ribo, circulate is a B2B company of Catalan origin, specializing in the production of zero-waste ecological uniforms and workwear, guaranteeing the recyclability of its garments until the end of their useful life.

In the words of Luis Ribó, “if the pandemic has shown anything, it is the need for companies to be present, accompany and communicate in order to be close to their customers and employees. Our goal is to be able to dress companies ethically and offer them the opportunity to introduce sustainability into their corporate culture. Fortunately, terms like “upcycling” or “circularity” are starting to become part of the vocabulary of more and more companies that want to be part of the cycle and have a positive impact on their environment.”

Founded in November 2019, the company closed last year with a turnover of 156,000 euros with more than 30,000 units sold in 2020 and the sum of 26 consolidated customers, some of which are from Pepsico, Isdin or Uriach.

Bioflytech: sustainable food ingredients

bioflytech is a biotechnological start-up dedicated to the artificial breeding of flies in order to obtain meal from them, which can then be used, among other things, as an ingredient in animal feed. Bioflytech emerged from the “Bionics, Systematics and Applied Insect Research” group of the University of Alicante, a project in which Dr. Red SaintsWith Jordy Blade as CEO of the company.

The company has a multidisciplinary team of professionals from the fields of applied research and the agri-food industry, aiming to create added value within the circular economy. “In 2030 there will be 8.5 billion people in the world. Feeding yourself nutritiously and sustainably with healthy and efficient products is an important task for countries and companies that is becoming increasingly important,” says the company boss.

As for the process they use themselves, they explain it on their website. As sources of waste, they use the larvae that feed on organic by-products, and through the massive production of biomass we get quality ingredients. Two types of components are obtained from this, on the one hand, protein meals and functional fats, used to complete the animal feed, providing a very high quality protein that is sustainable over time, and on the other hand, an enriched compost, since the result of this is The Production process acts as an important soil recuperator and is 100% organic.

Unpackaged shop: wholesale market

“The idea was to create a website where people who share the Zero Waste movement can do all the shopping,” he says. Maria ariasCEO and Founder of unpackage shop, the first large supermarket in Spain, is located on Calle Narváez in Madrid. He built the project on his own 25 years after starting his journey in the Zero Waste movement in 2015 due to various experiences abroad.

At the moment the brand has a single branch in the center of Madrid, where the customer usually arrives with their own containers and bags and takes the product by weight, although it does not sell fresh produce. These are, for the most part, people between the ages of 24 and 40 making the most comprehensive purchases, followed by others choosing specific products throughout the week, the people over 50 years of age.

Momoc Real People: vegan shoes from km. zero

Gabriella Machado is founder of Momoc real people the brand with which she designs and manufactures sustainable and vegan women’s shoes based on recycled material. The idea is “to contribute to raising awareness of sustainable walking, because today it is not only possible, but necessary”.

As part of the “Zero Waste” philosophy, 70% of the materials used for its shoes are organic. Its materials include recycled natural rubber for the manufacture of soles, or ecological leather without chrome and heavy metals, or pineapple leather or 100% recycled wood for heels. Among other things, Momoc saves 8,000 liters of water for every pair of shoes. He also Packaging It is sustainable, with an original organic cotton bag.

Another factor that allows them to stand out from the competition is that it is a 100% Spanish brand committed to zero kilometer, which is why it has chosen its suppliers, manufacturers and warehouses within the same geographical area, to avoid displacement.