ValueBin - How to stop the plastic crisis
1. Unfortunately the value of empty packaging is zero. This is the essence of reason why worldwide recycling rates are so low. We recycle only the 9% of what we consume globally.
2. What if every empty packaging was a lottery ticket? What if the lottery price would be received only if that packaging is properly recycled? Consumers would see their empty packaging very differently.
3. This is the mission of ValueBin.
ValueBin's app asks consumers to scan empty products' barcodes before sorting them at home. The scan permits them to learn what that packaging is made of and how to sort it within their local recycling scheme. Every scan corresponds to a score that can be converted in prices, given the user pass ValueBin simple verification method, working exclusively with technologies existing on the user's smartphone.
THE PROBLEM
On one hand, we urgently need better educated consumers for a more efficient sharing and recycling stream to break the vicious cycle of linear economy; on the other hand, we need a tighter relationship between consumers and Brands to help closing the loop of circular economy.
OUR SOLUTION
ValueBin is a mobile app that:
• Provides users who recycle correctly with rewards and smart grocery services
• Connects brands & consumers in a new meaningful way
A scalable infrastructure-free platform where users are rewarded to recycle, track their consumption, share their surplus food and where Brands can connect in a new meaningful way with their most valuable consumers.
For Users
By means of a single frictionless product-consumer interaction triggered by barcode scan, VB offers a seamless user experience assisted by AI and integrated with gamification and e-commerce to track users’ own consumption and share surplus food; provide information on packaging sorting. VB transforms a frustrating moment, throwing garbage, into a rewarding game.
For Brands
VB offers a consumer-centric and data-driven CRM able to deliver personalized experience while turning individual products into owned-media channels; analyze and visualize consumers’ real-time data, anticipate their needs and identify opportunities to create new products to finally increase customers
HOW IT WORKS
A - SORTING with CURBSIDE COLLECTION
1 --- Once a product is consumed at home, our user scans its barcode before collecting it into the right domestic recycling bin (as displayed by the app according to the zip code).
2 --- Every 5 geo-located barcode scans a lottery ticket is issued.
3 --- Once the domestic recycling bin is filled, user notifies VB he is going to dispose of the recyclable items for curbside collection. The lottery drawing is immediately executed by identifying each product’s barcode of the domestic bin as a lottery ticket.
4 --- Should the user win, a verification process is activated to redeem the tokens. If the process is successful, tokens associated with the prize are transferred to the user account.
The verification process alternatively involves:
• Quiz about the correct way to dispose of certain items (validates sorting knowledge)
• Re-scan one of the items tossed into the domestic recycling bin (certifies tidiness in sorting)
• Image recognition (confirms effective accuracy of sorted materials through Augmented Reality volumetric calculation and material luminance)
NOTE: scanning of products is meant to cover only the first part of the user experience. Since consumption habits tend to be homogenous and repetitive, once users has scanned the first batch, would not need to rescan the second time.
B - SORTING with WASTE PICKERS
1B is an integration designed for countries in which recycling schemes are poor or non-existing.
1 --- Once a product is consumed at home, our user scans its barcode before collecting it into the right domestic recycling bin (as displayed by the app according to the zip code).
2 --- Every 5 geo-located barcode scan a lottery ticket is issued.
3 --- Once the domestic recycling bin is filled, user books waste collection at his place.
4 --- Local collectors in the area receives a notification (via sms or app) with location, time and list of scanned packages. They make their offer (via sms or app). Once the selected collector arrives at user’s place, user notifies VB and he receives a four-digit code. The collector sends the code to VB (via sms or app) to certify he arrived at destination and lottery tickets are drawn.
5 --- Should the user win, a verification process is activated to redeem the tokens for both of them:
re-scanning one of the items tossed into the domestic recycling bin.
- Demonstrate business models for extending the lifetime of products
- Prototype
- New business model or process
ValueBin is the only scalable infrastructure-free platform where users are rewarded to recycle, track their consumption, share their surplus food and where brands can connect in a new meaningful way with their most valuable consumers.
The program transforms FMCG into a media channel enabling gamification of recycling and reducing food waste through a sharing platform without any hardware other than user’s smartphone.
None of the current solutions to increase recyling rates is infrastructure free like ours.
VB is infrastructure-free solution leveraging on users’ smartphones and machine learning to enhance scalability:
The platform is perfectly replicable across:
- Markets (Food & Beverage; Household Products; Medicines…)
- Geographies (VB is built with partners from Milan, Singapore and Nairobi)
- Technologies (Barcode; QR; RFID; AR)
- Machine Learning
- Big Data
- Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality
- Internet of Things
- Behavioral Design
- Social Networks
Millenials need a guide to transform their frustration about the current climate crisis into a path meaningful of hope constructive.
ValueBin is a mobile platform that enpowers them to easily access packaging information, municipal recycling regulations, and engage in a meaningful way with their favorite Brands.
- Children and Adolescents
- Kenya
- Singapore
- Kenya
- Singapore
The more people use VB, the more educated recyclers we will have. The more environmentally conscious consumers, the less surplus food and litter ending up in landfills and into the environment. According to our simulation based on data if 100k VB users increase residential sorting by 20% in Europe by means of the reward system, this increment could save approximately 250K tons of greenhouse gasses from leaking into the atmosphere monthly.
Eventually, VB aims to be more effective in the Asian markets where, according to Adam Minter, “...boosting trash collection rates to 80 percent in just five Asian countries — China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam — could reduce ocean plastic waste by a whopping 23 percent over a decade. No other solution can promise such an immediate or lasting impact.” (Adam Minter, Bloomberg, June 25 2018).
Short Term Developments (2019-2020)
Pilot project; UI/UX improvements; Machine Learning applied to Web Crawler; Online products comparison tool (weeks 1 - 8); release Version 1.0 (weeks 9 - 20); Food sharing platform; Release version 1.1 (weeks 21 - 30)
Growth over the Next 5 Years
-Reach 300K-500K users and begin international expansion;
-Involve 5-10 brands paying our services on recurring basis;
-Reach 600k revenues.
We are asking users to interact with an app over a long period of time. Even if we are calculating few seconds of interaction per day, it is a big ask for a very distracted user.
We believe that our captivating UX/UI, our system of rewards and tremendously useful services would dramatically boost the usage of the app.
Every barcode scan increases the possibility of unlocking a reward while the shopping list tool and the links with e-commerce would make Valuebin the main platform to interact with products, organize the grocery, track past and future consumption and shop online.
Moreover the food sharing tool will make the app more social. Sharing food would mean getting to know local VB users and feel part of a global endeavour to reduce carbon footprint.
- For-Profit
Three full time staff (all co-founders) plus two part time members are the core of ValueBin.
Around us we have gathered a large pool of advisors such as Mr. Brambilla di Civesio, former President of Carrefour Italy and Maurizio Crippa, Founder of Gre3n, an EU fund backed company patenting a Chemical Recyling solution, the future of plastic depolimerization.
We have an outstanding international team gathering deep expertise from complementary fields with a global view on a global problem.
Giovanni Fantoni (full-time founder, CEO, 40%) has ten years of experience in global marketing campaigns for top tier brands such as Coca-Cola, Heineken, Audi and BMW. His projects gathered 14 Cannes Lions awards so far.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovanni-fantoni-modena-75940720/
Umberto Pavesi (full-time founder, CFO, 40%) worked as a consultant in four different countries getting to know very talented professionals who still are very supportive.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/umberto-pavesi-14501a40/
Sebastian Greco (full-time founder, CTO, 20%) programs since he was a kid and successfully launched a company (Streamix) selling a live broadcast platform currently distributed in EMEA by a top tier organization.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/grecosebastian/
Cristian Conedera (senior software developer) has been working with Sebastian since they were kids and he’s Streamix co-founder.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristianconedera/
Jennifer Lauren (strategic development) has over a decade of experience of working in international non-profit, educational, media and social service organizations.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-lauren-106a3049/
VB is backed by several top tier organizations such as GS1 (Barcode Global Issuer), Food Industry Asia, Coop and the former president of Carrefour Italy, Giuseppe Brambilla (advisor and angel investor).
Moreover VB was hired by Nielsen Company for a platfom on product price comparison that will be embedded as users additional service in VB app.
Pay Per (Barcode) scan: VB sells IoT interactions between users and products with related analytics.
Brands pay a predefined number of interactions triggered by profiled consumers on a given time frame and geographical area.
On average, VB retains 40% of the value while 60% is transferred to users.
Prices of the IoT interactions are variable and are based on the number of addressed consumers (Q) on a given period (the higher the Q, the lower the prices). Pricing model is designed to be affordable for our clients according to the expected revenues coming from Q. For instance, on average the model produces a monthly expense for a typical client that ranges from 4% of its total revenues (Q = 300) to 0.04% of its revenues (Q = 1 million).
Apart from the Pay-Per-Scan model described above we have three additional revenue streams.
1 --- Municipalities, forced to raise dramatically their recycling rates, would provide at least additional 6% to our main revenue stream with no additional variable costs. Furthermore, the most important output we can get from a partnership with municipalities is a faster growth of our user base.
2 --- Scanning product’s barcodes through ValueBin app gives access to our grocery list management services. One of them is to provide a tool to easily make grocery lists. The integration with retailers’ e-commerce via API would provide our users with the fastest way to directly check out and would allow us to charge a small mark-up on top of retailer’s shopping cart.
3 --- Price comparison services and analysis reports sold to retailers. This is currently an already active revenue stream. We are developing our own platform to offer the service to our users and, in the meanwhile, we are developing a B2B platform commissioned by Nielesn Company (Italy). In the future we will be able to sell the service directly to retailers (interested in comparing private label products) and CPG brands.
Our app usage needs to become viral. The financial opportunities embedded in our model should become the leading communication scheme.
Continuing to further strengthen our technological solution is also immensely important and MIT landscape would be tremendously helpful.
- Technology
- Distribution
- Talent or board members
All FMCG brands are encouraged to join our program. We are already in touch with The Coca-Cola Company, Carlsberg, Carrefour, Coop, Nestlé Waters and Autogrill.
Being backed by MIT would boost the opportunity to convince other brands to join.
We would entirely use the GM prize on Circular Economy to further test and strengthen our technological solution.