Unwrapping Sustainable: Papair Insights from SoTecIn Factory Phase 1
Find out more about Papair, their Phase 1 experience and mission for circular industry transformation, as one of SoTecIn Factory Open Call 1 Phase 2 winners receiving up to EUR 85K funding for the pre-market tech demonstration of their social innovation solution.
Can you briefly explain your solution and its key mission? What is your current business model?
We are Papair GmbH and have developed the sustainable alternative to plastic bubble wrap. We want our product to have an impact in the field of packaging and logistics.
As a first step, our business model envisages setting up our own production facilities and developing the product further, for example by adding a coating to open up new markets. The second step is to establish our technology on the market as a license.
What long-term, systemic change do you aim to achieve in the industry? How has the SoTecIn Factory program, particularly Metabolic’s workshop on building systemic impact strategy, influenced your approach to triggering that change?
We don’t want to ban the use of plastic bubble wrap, but to convince our customers that using it offers benefits not only from an environmental perspective, but also from an economic and logistical one.
As part of the SoTecIn Factory programme, the exchange with the other participating start-ups was particularly important, as the exchange of experiences with each other provided a new perspective on problems. The mentors of the program acted as guard rails and were able to steer the corresponding scenarios in a successful direction.
In Phase 1, you joined workshops and mentoring to boost your capacity for systemic impact in the EU’s circular industry. What valuable skills, tools, or connections did you gain, and which parts were most helpful?
The workshop on solution validation was particularly valuable for us as a team, as we are a new market entrant and have to validate our product on a daily basis, incorporating our own insights into product development. At the end of the day, the direct exchange with direct customers is most important, but in a diversified way, which we were able to incorporate into our daily work through the workshop.
In your view, what support do social impact ventures with circular economy strategies need to be impactful and resilient? Has SoTecIn Factory Phase 1 provided any insights to improve your business sustainability?
We believe that in the field of social impact/circular economy, it is of utmost importance to develop a solid business model that does not lose focus on social impact. Until such a model has established itself on the market, start-ups need financial support in addition to content and organizational support, as it usually has to be established over a longer period of time.
SoTecIn made it clear to us that sustainability impacts can be measured and we can now show carbon footprints for our products, which represent a high added value for customers. In general, making such factors visible is very important.
In Phase 1 of SoTecIn Factory, you co-developed your solution with a Market Validator, an industry actor and potential customer. How did this refine your solution and enhance your understanding of sustainable industry challenges? How will it prepare you for building and testing your Phase 2 demonstrator?
By working with the potential customer, we were able to incorporate their needs into the further development of our product. It is important not to develop a purely individual solution, but to focus on the market as a whole or to ask ourselves the question: Which customer segment can also benefit from this solution and how do I reach them?
We now have a clear idea for the construction of the demonstrator in phase 2 and will further specify this in a joint exchange with the market validators. The aim is to create a product that is not only used specifically for one customer, but also represents a solution for many others.
What inspired you to adopt social initiatives in your business? Was there a specific moment or experience that sparked this decision?
There wasn’t a specific moment, but rather it’s our mentality and our self-understanding to have a positive impact on society, the environment, and our surroundings. Without a purpose that also serves as a common goal, we wouldn’t have come this far with our product. We see our company as a large team united under the same idea, which is to leave a positive impact.
For the end, what are your expectations of Phase 2 of the SoTecIn Factory programme? What are your general goals for the next 6-12 months?
Our goal for the upcoming months is to constantly improve our product while developing our demonstrator for the second phase of the SoTecIn programme. Generally we want to improve our Sales activities and also built up our team and the following structures around it.
