Reduced Australian Landfill by 450,000 Plastic Bottles, Now Investing in Singapore Expansion
Unleashing Refilled: Aussie's Crusade Against Plastic Bottles Hits Asia
Dumbfounded by the jaw-dropping statistics of global plastic consumption — a whopping 1 million bottles purchased every minute — Aussie entrepreneur Ryan Nelson had had enough. A broken water fountain at a Sydney gym sent him down a path to combat the plastic nightmare.
In 2021, Nelson founded Refilled, a mission-driven startup with a vision to 'unbottle' the Australian drinks industry. After securing $2 million in funding, installing 42 Refiller machines across Australia, and achieving over 448,000 refills, Nelson is now eyeing the plastic-laden terrain of Asia.
Refilled's water refill stations have found their way into the offices of bigwigs like Meta, Google, Uber, Atlassian, Canva, and even inside the Greenhouse Tech Hub at Sydney's Salesforce tower. Nelson notes, "Our first customers are global giants with a shared goal of keeping employees content, streamlining workflows, and saving on beverage expenses."
Enter Singapore, a city-state with staggering single-use plastic usage, making it an attractive target for Refilled's Asian expansion. Ben Gattie, co-founder and CEO of The Working Capitol, a prominent co-working space in Singapore, shares their alignment with Refilled's vision, "As Singapore ranks first in Asia for single-use plastic consumption, partnerships like Refilled propel us towards the Singapore Green Plan 2030, aiming to reduce landfill waste by 30% by 2030."
Gattie believes small actions in the workplace can create a ripple effect that impacts behavior beyond the office. Gamification and a leaderboard to display each office's bottle eliminator status further drives sustainable behavior adoption.
For employers, benefits include saving resources and enhancing efficiency. Eva Milbank, the Sydney office manager of WPP (the world's largest advertising agency), confesses, "Refilled has made my job a whole lot easier, cutting back on costs while freeing up time spent on ordering, stocking, and lugging heavy cases of drinks."
Bottles no longer weigh down individuals but instead, Refilled takes care of pouring chilled, filtered tap water into reusable bottles. If thirst calls for something more vibrant, flavors like mango, lemon, strawberry, and watermelon offer a delightful twist.
Trent Bagnall from Melt Ventures, a Newcastle-based VC firm, was blown away by Refilled's innovative prototype and led the 2023 $1.3 million seed round. With these funds, Refilled has been able to manufacture and deploy Refiller machines in offices across the Asia-Pacific region.
Expansion aside, Nelson is determined, "A year on from our seed funding, our journey to unbottle the Australian beverage industry and save 100 million single-use plastic bottles from landfill has only grown stronger."
Will Refilled's innovative approach to combating plastic pollution ripple across Asia? As Nelson looks ahead, the prospects are undeniably brimming with potential.
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Enrichment Data:- Market Focus: Refilled's Asian expansion focuses on Singapore due to its high plastic consumption and ambitious sustainability targets.- Partnerships: The Working Capitol, a prominent co-working space in Singapore, is Refilled's first client in Asia.- Technology Offering: Refilled's smart drink dispenser, the Refiller, offers customizable beverages and eliminates the need for single-use plastic bottles.- Future Growth: Refilled seeks strategic investments and a local distribution partner in Singapore to accelerate its expansion into additional Asian markets.- Broader Strategy: Beyond Singapore, Refilled's expansion into Asia suggests a broader strategy to address plastic waste across the region, leveraging Singapore as a strategic hub for growth.
- In the realm of environmental science and climate-change awareness, Refilled's innovative technology, aimed at combating plastic pollution, has attracted partnerships such as with The Working Capitol in Singapore, marking a significant step in the startup's Asian expansion.
- As Refilled eye's Asia's plastic-laden terrain, this Australian entrepreneurship venture fosters a business model that not only addresses the financial concerns of employers, like cost savings and operational efficiency, but also contributes to a more sustainable environment by reducing plastic waste.
- In the realms of both business and technology, Trent Bagnall from Melt Ventures, a Newcastle-based VC firm, led investments that fueled Refilled's manufacturing and deployment of smart drink dispensers across the Asia-Pacific region, advancing the startup's goal of unbottling the region's beverage industry and contributing to a more sustainable future through the reduction of plastic waste.
