hey circle receives 1.5 million euros in seed financing round

Reusable shipping in response to the waste crisis: impact investor capacura leads financing round for hey circle to drive sustainable e-commerce.

Munich - The sustainable startup hey circle has successfully completed a financing round with a total volume of 1.5 million euros. The company, founded by Doris Diebold, focuses on a reusable shipping system with reusable shipping boxes and bags, a deposit system and an IT solution. The funds are to be used specifically for the company's growth: strengthening the sales and IT teams, expanding production capacities and extending the product portfolio.

The lead investor in this round is the impact investor capacura. Other investors include Gateway Ventures, CK Venture, super angels, Brangs + Heinrich and various business angels.

hey circle has the golden triangle of an innovative, sustainable idea, a great management team and promising implementation

Katja Ruhnke, Managing Director of CK Venture Capital GmbH

hey circle's goal is to replace 80 million single-use packages with more environmentally friendly shipping solutions by 2028. A hey circle box enables up to 94% waste reduction and significantly reduces CO2 emissions compared to disposable boxes. The hey circle management team consists of Doris Diebold (CEO), Morris Kurz (CTO) and Rebecca Steinke (COO). The 12-strong team, which works both hybrid and on-site, covers all key functions. Rebecca Steinke completed the management team in January.

Drykorn and the Austrian Post

hey circle already has 30 customers, including companies such as Drykorn and Austrian Post. Test projects are being carried out with Trigema. The reusable shipping solution is suitable for end customer shipping, business customers, intralogistics, store replenishment, click & collect, rental and repair services and the shipping of chilled food and medicines. The monthly rental costs of hey circle shipping packaging are comparable to the purchase price of a new disposable carton. The integrated IT solution also enables a downstream deposit system and ensures a high return rate.

In view of the waste crisis in Germany, with 237 kilograms of packaging waste per person per year (as of 2021, Eurostat), hey circle is striving to make its contribution to the solution. With 19.7 million tons of packaging waste, Germany is the European leader. Over 4.5 billion parcel shipments per year contribute significantly to this problem. In bevh surveys, consumers are showing increased interest in environmentally friendly shipping solutions in online retail.

We are delighted to have investors at our side who not only support us financially, but also with a range of specialist expertise and who share our vision for a sustainable mail order business.

Doris Diebold, founder and CEO hey circle

Founder and CEO Doris Diebold emphasizes the importance of support from investors who not only contribute financial resources but also professional expertise and share the vision for sustainable mail order. Dr. Ingo Dahm, Managing Director of capacura GmbH, sees hey circle as an addition to the portfolio and emphasizes the contribution to improving the world by investing in forward-looking start-ups.