Tech firm joins the TinySeed accelerator to boost its platform that enables plastic-free shopping

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, August 25, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Filljoy, a company that helps retailers offer customers a simple bring-your-own-container system to cut plastic waste, announced today it raised $150,000 from the TinySeed accelerator program.

The funding and TinySeed’s collaborative network will accelerate Filljoy’s mission to make plastic-free shopping convenient for retailers and their patrons.

“Given the increasingly visible environmental costs of plastic pollution, more retail stores that offer plastic-free shopping are popping up each month — and Filljoy is excited to help them meet that demand with our technology,” said Derrick Chao, founder of Filljoy. “Entering TinySeed provides us with the funding we need to further innovate and help realize our product vision of moving from a point solution to a broader platform for sustainability. It’s also a vote of confidence from institutions that companies can be mission-driven while also driving growth.”

Less than 10 percent of all plastic ever produced has been recycled, according to the United Nations Environment Program. That means the vast majority of plastic is incinerated, sitting in landfills, or polluting oceans and the environment.

Chao launched Filljoy to help fix that problem by offering retailers a simple solution that allows their patrons to bring and fill their own durable containers rather than creating more plastic waste.

Filljoy’s weighing system integrates with a wide range of point-of-sale systems to make the bring-your-own-container refill shopping experience easier and more fun. Patrons simply weigh a container, scan a smart tag, and then round up their coffee beans, grains, or other bulk product. When they return with the filled container, a retailer scans the tag and finishes checkout.

“Filljoy created a simple solution that helps retailers and shoppers become better environmental stewards,” said Tracy Osborn, Principal and Program Director at TinySeed. “As more consumers seek out plastic-free shopping, Filljoy will ensure retailers can meet the demand.”

To date, retailers have diverted over 500,000 plastic containers from the waste stream with the help of Filljoy’s platform. Filljoy's platform is used by more than 50 low-waste refill and grocery stores in North America and is in the process of expanding into the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

As more cities, states, and countries adopt policies that eliminate single-use plastic, Filljoy hopes to further fuel the re-use movement and make bring-your-own-container as common as reusable totes.

“In recent years, plastic pollution has become an increasingly visible scourge on our environment and waterways,” Chao said. “We are still very much in the early adopter stage in terms of the reuse movement. Filljoy and other new technologies that support and streamline this process are crucial to helping grow this movement and making it more mainstream.”

About Filljoy: Launched in 2019, Filljoy is based in Berkeley, Calif., and was founded by Derrick Chao. Filljoy builds technology solutions for retail stores fighting against plastic waste that encourage their customers to refill their own containers when shopping for common household goods and grocery items.

About TinySeed: TinySeed is an early-stage investment fund and remote accelerator program that has invested in more than 80 fast-growing, B2B SaaS companies.

Derrick Chao
Filljoy
hello@filljoy.co
Visit us on social media:
Other