This start-up wants to become the next German world market leader

Vytal plans to be represented with its reusable packaging systems in several industries and worldwide in the medium term. Legislation, both in Germany and internationally, is also expected to help.

These are tough times for Germany as an export giant: many popular products, such as internal combustion engines, are in danger of becoming increasingly less in demand. Meanwhile, when it comes to future-proof products, the U.S. and the Chinese seem to be pulling ahead. So where is the industry in which the world market leaders will come from in the future?

Tim Breker has an idea: reusable packaging. Sounds unspectacular, but is a growth market according to the founder of Vytal. "The B2C reusable market is growing strongly worldwide in the coming years," he says. And he is certain: it will ultimately be dominated by a German player. If he has his way, of course, by Vytal.

But the issue is still big, especially in Germany. The Federal Republic is comparatively far along, also in terms of legal requirements. On January 1, 2023, the mandatory reusable packaging, as the amendment to the Packaging Act is colloquially known, will come into force in this country. Then restaurateurs and retailers will be obliged to offer a reusable solution for food and takeaway meals in addition to disposable packaging. Exceptions will only be made for very small businesses. This means that everyone from supermarket chains and system caterers to the Italian restaurant around the corner is currently looking for a cost-effective way to comply with the new regulations.

Already market leader in Germany

And they quickly land on Vytal. The Cologne-based company says it is already the market leader in the food sector. "We are the only ones to offer food containers in all sizes and shapes," says Breker. Companies pay Vytal a one-time set-up fee for the system, which ranges from 100 to 250 euros per location. Customers can check out Vytal containers via app and also return them - not just at the station where they picked them up, but at any. Vytal makes a profit on every fill.

Some companies are trying to build a similar solution themselves. But Rewe and KFC, among others, rely on Vytal, in part because the model is much more convenient for customers. "With pool systems like ours, they don't have umpteen different boxes on the shelf, but at most one," says Breker. And the companies don't have to build up their own reusable customer base first, but can fall back on the already registered Vytal users. After all, 350,000 are already registered. With the mandatory reuse of beverages, this number is likely to increase significantly in the near future.

But Germany is only the beginning. According to forecasts, the global market for reusable packaging could grow by a good six percent per year in the future.

A franchise system to help

For international expansion, Vytal is also relying on a franchise system: local partners on site are given a license and build up a network themselves. In this way, internationalization is faster than if the company itself were to start in each market. And so Vytal already has partners in countries such as Norway, Israel and Mexico. "Whereby we also go into new countries ourselves when the opportunity arises," says Breker. In the Netherlands, for example, a reusable-friendly reform is also due next year, and the start-up then wants to expand there itself. Breker is not afraid of local competition: "Vytal has already recorded more app downloads than all other reusable apps - worldwide."

In addition to national legislators, the EU is also playing into Vytal's hands. The latter is also working on new reusable specifications that could go beyond the food sector and include beverages. Specifications for cosmetics or online trade are also being discussed again and again. Breker believes Vytal's model is relatively easy to transfer to other fields. "We are also already loosely talking about it with potential partners in the drugstore sector," he says. In this case, too, Vytal could use the fact that it already has a six-digit number of users.

In line with the upcoming reform and further expansion plans, Vytal has now also raised more money. Already two million euros have been raised via a crowdinvesting campaign, complementing a ten-million-euro round that Vytal closed earlier this year. Whereby Breker admits that it wasn't necessarily about the money. "Above all, we wanted to create even more loyalty among our customers and also create communication occasions for ourselves," he says. You don't become a world market leader without a little attention.