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Amazon Launchpad, the one-stop shop for unique and unexpected finds from emerging brands, has announced Ops Clean, creator of an eco-friendly laundry detergent alternative, as the 2023 European Startup of the Year.
To celebrate the Innovation Awards, Amazon is featuring a curated collection on the Amazon Launchpad storefront, packed with forward-thinking products designed by the France-based overall winner, as well as other European winners and finalists.
Startup of the Year
Ops Clean, whose sachet effectively cleans all types of laundry using on average 12 times less CO2 emissions[1], has been awarded a €100,000 grant, a featured placement on Amazon Launchpad, and one year of free account management and support to sell on Amazon. This natural product, made in France and delivered in recyclable and compostable packaging, effectively cleans all type of laundry with just one ingredient.
The free-to-enter Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards saw hundreds of applications across Europe. A panel of expert judges selected the €100,000 grand prize winner and also awarded five runners-up a €10,000 grant, and one-year of free access to Amazon Launchpad, from a shortlist of 20.
Jean-Baptiste Duranton, co-founder of Ops Clean said: “Winning Amazon Launchpad’s ‘European Startup of the Year’ will transform and shape the future of our business as we look to scale up and offer more customers across Europe a sustainable washing alternative. We’re passionate about ecological innovation; this recognition and support from Amazon allows us to keep developing products that respect our planet and its inhabitants.”
Marc Biessy, co-founder of Ops Clean added: “The grant allows us to continue improving our product and do more research to demonstrate its effectiveness, while still retaining ownership of our company. We are especially thankful to Amazon for believing in us, in our idea of a truly eco-friendlier product that can help the laundry detergent market to become greener. With this award, Amazon shows that they not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk for a more sustainable world. Thank you for that.”
Xavier Flamand, VP of Amazon Launchpad, said: “Ops Clean is a well-deserved winner of our Startup of the Year 2023 – a zero waste detergent sachet that reduces water usage by around 30% per wash, translating to an average annual saving of 3,000 litres.
“At Amazon we are passionate about supporting and championing startups and SMEs who challenge the status quo to bring innovative products to the market. This year’s winners are truly pioneering in their fields who have brought new thinking to delight our customers with their creations. Since its launch, Amazon Launchpad has supported over 2,700 emerging brands, and we continue to be overwhelmed by the ingenuity and creative thinking brought to the table by these companies, who are truly shaping the future with Amazon’s continued support.”
The competition
In addition to the Startup of the Year, Amazon has revealed five other winners, chosen from hundreds of applications from 29 different European countries. They are: Talking Hands from Germany, Bricknic from the Netherlands, Infinite Athletic from Spain, Firemill from Sweden, and Milky Planet from the UK. Each winner receives a €10,000 grant to invest into their growing business, as well as one-year free access to Amazon Launchpad.
Winning products were judged by a panel consisting of four industry experts, including: Andy Fishburn, Managing Director of Virgin StartUp; John Vincent, Co-founder of LEON; Simona Barbieri, Founder & Creative Director of Hubdot; and Alessandro Giudici, Director of the Executive MBA at Bayes Business School. The emerging brands and products were judged based on their aesthetic, design, uniqueness, and differentiation, as well as social, ecological, and economic sustainability aspects.
“The Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards continue to attract amazing innovative brands each year, with game-changing products that really stand out on the market,” Andy Fishburn, Managing Director of Virgin StartUp and judging panel member said.
Andy added: “We were so impressed by the simplicity and eco-friendly credentials of the Ops Clean product, it really stood out as a product that offers improvements to a task, like laundry, for both the customer and the planet. Congratulations to Ops Clean and all the winners this year, the judging panel look forward to seeing where the support from Amazon Launchpad will take your businesses.”
Amazon Launchpad was introduced in 2015 and is now available across Europe in France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, India, and Australia. Since launch, Amazon Launchpad has worked with over 200 leading venture capital firms, startup accelerators and crowd-funding platforms to help emerging brands launch industry-changing products.
Meet the winners
- Talking Hands, Germany Startup of the Year, aims to contribute to an inclusive and understanding society, and was started originally to create a solution to help children with Down syndrome communicate. The company has a whole portfolio of different sign flipbooks and products such as tilo, the finger alphabet puzzle, and the Talking Hands app.
- Bricknic, Netherlands Startup of the Year, has a mission to develop cooking tools for togetherness, supporting diverse communities while caring for personal taste. Inspired by the age-old process of clay pot cooking, this healthy and collaborative way of cooking celebrates community spirit and puts social bonds back on the menu. The Bricknic Cooking Brick and the Bricknic BBQ Planet are made from natural clay and can be used on the barbecue, in the fireplace, or in the kitchen oven.
- Infinite Athletic, Spain Startup of the Year, is a brand of technical clothing for the world of tennis, that is not only the first such brand to recover discarded material for a second life; the company also designs all garments with circularity in mind, ensuring the clothing’s end life is thought about with a new garment in mind. The garments are eco-designed, with no other materials than the polyester itself, so that they can always be recycled.
- Firemill, Sweden Startup of the Year, is dubbed the fire extinguisher of the future, created by some of Sweden’s foremost industrial designers. The tool transforms an ordinary carbon dioxide cylinder for carbonated water into a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher.
- Milky Plant, UK Startup of the Year, is revolutionising the way consumers drink plant-based milk at home. The Milky Plant machine makes fresh, healthy, and clean plant-based milk as sustainably as possible. No more milk cartons or plastic waste; by combining nuts, seeds, and plants, you’re in control of what goes in your milk.
Explore the best products from small and emerging brands at Amazon Launchpad.
Sources
1. Compared to conventional detergent https://www.opsclean.fr/en/product-page/le-sachet-ops-clean
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