26-01-2023 10:25

Nordea and Norrsken support &Repeat, which aims to reduce waste related to take-away food

95% of all take-away packaging is burned or thrown away outside. The startup company &Repeat wants to change that. With one of the first food packaging deposit systems in the world, customers are encouraged to make money and save the planet at the same time. Meet Tor Espen Stenvik, CEO of &Repeat, which is located at the tech hub Norrsken House in Stockholm.
&Repeat Team
Teamet på &Repeat

Önskan om att bygga ett eget företag – grunden till &Repeat

&Repeat is a so-called impact company. This means that part of the business idea is to make the world a better place. But it wasn’t big dreams about becoming environmental heroes that were the original driving force to start &Repeat, but rather the ambition of the founders, Tor Espen Stenvik, Mikael Berglin and  Henrik Floden, to to build and run their own business.

”We don’t have this super inspiring story where one of our founders travelled to an exotic destination, witnessed first-hand how badly mother earth is treated by humans and then decided to become a “hero” and save the planet. The truth is that we have always dreamt about building our own company and we considered several options before we were finally convinced that this was the idea to go with,” says Tor Espen Stenvik, CEO of &Repeat.    

The future strategy is to grow profitably with debt financing

&Repeat was launched in December 2020 with a strong focus on growth. Several agreements have been concluded with restaurants and businesses. They are present on several markets and in March 2022 &Repeat was launched in France. But the focus has changed in line with increasingly uncertain market conditions and higher funding costs. Today the goal is also profitability.

”As many other early-stage startups and businesses, we’ve shifted our focus towards profitability and we’re approaching our  first mile stone – to reach breakeven,” says Tor Espen.

Debt financing from Nordea is valuable. Getting access to capital without diluting existing owners is attractive and it’s especially during times like these a financing form that we’re considering.

Tor Espen Stenvik, CEO.

Financing is often a challenge when scaling up. &Repeat is supported by several VC companies and strong business angels. In addition, the company has sought to optimise its mix of financing by including debt financing, which Nordea helps with today.  

“Debt financing from Nordea is valuable. Getting access to capital without diluting existing owners is attractive and it’s especially during times like these a financing form that we’re considering,” Tor Espen continues. 

For &Repeat, legislation and regulation are important factors for scaling up. And this is where Tor Espen sees progress.  

“In most countries across Europe, the supervisory authorities are already working on implementing new laws to reduce disposable packaging waste. This work could potentially move the whole market to new solutions from one day to the next. And for us, it’s about being on the right market at the right time,” says Tor Espen.

Products must be ready before expansion

&Repeat has gained a lot of experience during this process. The biggest challenge has been to enter a new market.

“Although we’ve seen and heard stories from others, it’s quite different to do it yourself. We’ve really learnt the value of our network, the local market and how knowledge about cultural differences can be important for progress,” says Tor Espen.

Tor Espen rounds off by underlining how important it is to have a finished product before you start thinking about expanding.

 ”Focus on building a strong product before your start thinking too much about expanding. If you expand too early, you will spend a lot more money than needed.”

Focus on building a strong product before your start thinking too much about expanding.

Tor Espen Stenvik, CEO.

&Repeat at Nordea

At Nordea’s staff restaurant at the head office in Stockholm most of the food is served in reusable packaging that you can take with you. This is in line with Nordea’s strategy to increase awareness of sorting and recycling. The initiative was launched together with &Repeat and is today concentrated at Nordea’s office at Smålandsgatan in Stockholm. 

Currently 800 Nordea employees have registered and about 10,000 items of packaging have been recycled so far.

Norrsken and Nordea – a renewed partnership

 

Norrsken supports entrepreneurs offering solutions to society’s biggest challenges, such as poverty, starvation, environmental issues, mental health problems and integration. This support includes running Norrsken House (a Stockholm meeting place and eco system for 450 impact-tech entrepreneurs) and managing a [venture capital fund with assets worth billions].

Since 2018, Nordea has been the main partner of Norrsken House, and we support its members every day by offering them advice, expertise and access to our network of large corporates and investors. Norrsken and Nordea recently extended their partnership until 2024.

 

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