Belgian startup Dripl has raised €2.15 million to accelerate what they call their ‘refillution.’ This capital consists of a combination of equity investments and convertible loans from international VC fund Faraday VP, The Source (Spadel Group), and current business angels, including Wim Vernaeve (GreenPark Investments), Jonas Mallisse (Founder Too Good To Go Belgium), Stéphane Ronse (CEO Foodbag). With the fresh funds, Dripl aims to develop the Refill Points further and expand across Europe, in addition to its current markets in Belgium and the Netherlands.
“We are pleased with the trust in Dripl from various sources. This combined investment gives us the opportunity to further develop our Refill Points, tap into new markets within Europe, and deepen our current markets. In Europe, an enormous growth potential lies due to the average consumer actively seeking sustainable alternatives, and regulations play a significant role in this as well. Take, for example, the measure in the Netherlands, to ban all disposable packaging in offices. We can see from the demand that many employers want to transition to a healthy work environment and reduce their footprint without compromising on benefits for employees,” says Colin Deblonde, co-founder and CEO of Dripl.
The Brussels-based startup was founded by Lucas Moreau & Colin Deblonde in 2020 with the aim of reinventing soft drinks in a sustainable way. The startup produces packaging-free soft drink vending machines to reduce the number of soft drink containers. Through Refill Points at companies such as Hubspot, BDO, SAP, and Toyota, nearly 2,500,000 packaging units have been avoided so far. Dripl can currently be found at various locations in Belgium and the Netherlands, aiming to save 15 million packaging units by 2025.
The packaging-free soda producer has seen significant growth, with more than 200 customers since its market launch in 2021. This upward trend is only just the beginning for the Belgian startup. The recent successful closing of the second financing round has raised €2.15 million.
In Belgium alone, we consume an average of 1.4 billion liters of soft drinks annually, resulting in 930 million plastic bottles and 2 billion cans of waste. To reduce this waste and promote healthy consumption, Dripl encourages companies to join their ‘Refillution.’ Dripl revolutionizes the production chain of flavored water and soft drinks by eliminating the need for bottles and unnecessary water transportation. Through the Refill Points, tap water is transformed into a worthy low-sugar alternative to soft drinks using natural ingredients and carbonation. Dripl aims to save up to 1 billion packaging units by 2030.
