What’s your company Reo doing?
It’s all about circular packaging. We’re building up a platform to offer smart and easy ways of transferring packaging systems from linear to circular solutions with a focus on personal care packaging.
Tell us more about yourself (personal focus), your co-founders and your team.
I am Steffanie Rainer 32 years and mom of two small children. I studied hospitality and have a family background in mechanical engineering. I’m passionate about networking and bringing our vision to live! My Co-Founder Nina Hillemeir is a designer and worked in the fashion industry. She’s great at thinking outside the box. She’s very much interested in sustainable solutions and super enthusiastic about our vision of circular resource usage.
What was your motivation (eg. purpose, wanted impact) for starting “Reo”? Tell us about your journey so far.
I want to make a change in the way we’re using the resources we have. As a company we started very small with refill stations for cosmetics. Our focus from the beginning was an awesome customer experience, enabled by the use of RFID technology. Our own brand and all our learnings laid the foundation for the Reo platform idea. We are currently working on a platform for reusable packaging systems that connects existing infrastructure and IoT chip technology to make circular packaging easily accessible and transparent.
“I want to make a change in the way we’re using the resources we have.“
When will you say “Yes” to achieve your goals and when will you say “No” to achieve them?
Stefanie’s motto is “Per aspera ad astra.”, Which means “Through difficulties to the stars.” There is always a yes! Sometimes you have to find it first! One advantage of building up your own company is, that you are the one who’s defining your company’s philosophy. Respecting each other, equality, sustainable action and our social responsibility are strong values for us. These principles form the basis of every decision we make and would not be thrown right out to reach our goals.
What is the most important thing you are working on right now and how will it succeed?
We want to offer a solution to one of the biggest problems: Packaging waste. By using smart technology, we want to provide alternative packaging option to the industry and consumers.
At the moment we’re working on our first pilot project which includes the German deposit infrastructure and are super excited about the outcome! We already know from our own brand and our refill stations that people are willing to take part in loop systems. We’re very optimistic about our pilot project, as it makes the process even more convenient. We deeply believe that this is the key to success here!
“Respecting each other, equality, sustainable action and our social responsibility are strong values for us.”
What was your biggest challenge so far as a founder?
The constant squeezing of the market until your product is accepted. It’s still a process…
What are you the proudest of so far?
That we already have built up a small but very high- quality network of people. We also completed a big pivot in our company strategy within the last 12 months. We managed to open up our idea without losing the original vision. That makes us very proud!
Why did you decide for Campus Founders and our Venture Studio?
Because money alone is not enough. As a startup you need experience, honest feedback and a network that opens doors for you.
About Reo
By using innovative IoT chip technologies, Reo enables a differentiated and transparent view of your processes. This opens up diverse and individual opportunities to generate information and insights along the product cycle. In this way, in addition to enabling reusability, much more individual information can be generated and greater added value created.