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STARTCUP CHALLENGE
BECAUSE IT ALL STARTS AROUND A CUP OF COFFEE
UUVIPAK WINS $50K
IN THE AUSTRALIAN STARTCUP CHALLENGE
We’re delighted to announce Brisbane start up, Uuvipak as the winner of the inaugural Australian StartCup Challenge - a competition that supports and rewards innovative start-ups and SMEs which are driving the circular economy in Australia.
Following a shortlist selection by an expert jury, Uuvipak was elected as the winner via a public vote, earning the team the first prize of AUD$50,000 funding, a Nespresso Momento Small Office Starter Pack and access to attend B Lab’s Become a B Corp workshop.
Uuvipak, a tech meets science innovation, claims to be on a mission to eliminate single-use plastic pollution with 100% home-compostable packaging, currently in the form of cups and containers. The winning submission by co-founders Dr Shafali Gupta and Andy Epifani revealed the pair has created a new patent pending edible material made from clean, upcycled organic food waste sourced from food and drink manufacturers across Australia. The entry states that the material is strong, hot water resistant for over 12 hours, and 100% biodegradable without leaving any toxic or harmful by-products in the process, creating a closed circular loop.
“After noticing the amount of packaging that we accumulated every day in our households, we decided to look for a better alternative to soft and hard single-use plastics. Uuvipak was born to eradicate single-use plastic pollution by creating a circular economy: our products are made from 100% upcycled clean organic food waste, without any chemical additives, and are able to biodegrade naturally after use. When you choose Uuvipak, you create zero landfill, don't contaminate your food with microplastics, and produce zero emissions.”
– Uuvipak Founders, Dr Shafali Gupta and Andy Epifani"Congratulations to the Uuvipak team on a remarkable circular innovation which inspired both our jury and the public with its creativity and potential for positive impact,” said Jean-Marc Dragoli, General Manager of Nespresso Oceania. “I would also like to recognise our two runners up, Gaia Project and Tackle Lab’s NOGO Bin, for their impressive submissions and thank each and every entrant for taking part in the Australian StartCup Challenge this year. The quality and quantity of submissions leaves me without a doubt that Australia can move, powered by bright ideas and innovation, toward a shared net-zero, circular economy.”
- Nespresso Managing Director, Jean-Marc Dragoli
The three finalists from the challenge were selected by an expert panel of leaders from different sectors who are committed to innovation and sustainable development, including:
• Professor Veena Sahajwalla, Founding Director of the UNSW Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre
• Nik Robinson, Co-Founder, Good Citizens
• Zoe Mellick, Sustainability Lead, Glam Corner
• Charlotte Connell, Climate Reality Leader, Co-Director and Sustainability lead at Founder Institute and EIR in Sustainability at Fishburners
• Yasmin Grigaliunas, CEO and co-founder, World’s Biggest Garage Sale
• Jean-Marc Dragoli, General Manager Oceania, Nespresso
• Mariah Monaghan, Head of Marketing and Sustainability, Nespresso Australia
Congratulations to our Runners up
Recognising the need to reduce waste and improve the way in which we farm and cultivate crops, Gaia Project Founder Nadun Hennayak created the Intelligent Crop Cultivation Module (ICCM). The ICCM is an innovative and unique modular cultivation method that responds to the plants’ natural growth cycle in order to significantly reduce and reuse water, while reducing energy and nutrient usage and doubling crop yield, effectively changing the way we grow produce.
Seeing the incredible number of nappies that end up in landfills across Australia every day, Jaci Mata and Meg Connor founded TackleLab with the goal of diverting nappy and wipe waste from landfill. Encouraging the switch from plastic to compostable nappies, TackleLab created the NOGO Bin to allow childcare centres to compost used nappies at scale.
An important next step in Nespresso’s B Corp ™ journey following certification in April, StartCup seeks to build on the company’s 30-year commitment to sustainability and innovation by providing a platform for innovative ideas, services or products that contribute to strengthening the circular economy in Australia.
