In this Pyxo review, we’re introducing you to one of the many exciting new startups to emerge from France in recent years. This company believes in cutting the amount of single-use plastic food packaging we consume on a regular basis, to protect the earth, and cut down on waste.
To help companies join in the crusade for a healthier planet, Pyxo offers a service designed to make reusable food storage containers as easy-to-use and cost-efficient as possible. While this startup has begun to generate a decent amount of attention for eco-friendly companies, it’s still relatively unknown.
Today, we’re going to show you exactly how Pyxo works, and how you can use the service to become a more sustainable company in 2022 and beyond.
What is Pyxo?
For some time, the demand for sustainable products and companies has been increasing, particularly among younger generations. These consumers know how important it is to look after the planet and limited resources we have. They also want to work with companies who feel the same way.
Pyxo is helping brands to become more sustainable, by making their packaging options a little easier. The idea behind Pyxo came from a fair at the Tuileries gardens from Paris. According to the founders, next to the food stands were waste bins overflowing with burger boxes, cups, and various other single-use food packaging options.
The co-founder and CEO, Benjamin Peri, believed there had to be a better way to deliver the food people wanted in their day-to-day life, without covering the world in trash. Initially, he and his company began working with another catering service company named Sodexo.
Pyxo and Sodexo worked together to replace plastic cups and make things more “reusable” in the food services landscape. When the pandemic hit and the demand for sustainability increased, Pyxo began searching for other clients. Today, the company is working with a range of other food tech brands like Popchef and Foodles.
Of course, perhaps the most significant rise in demand for Pyxo’s services came with the arrival of a regulatory change in France. During 2020, the parliament passed a law against unnecessary waste creation. The law now requires restaurants to switch to reusable food containers by 2023.
How Does Pyxo Work?
To help restaurants get rid of the no-longer viable one-use paper and plastic cups, boxes, and containers, Pyxo is working to create a kind of marketplace for reusable containers. The marketplace connects every company in the industry to a network of available containers.
Pyxo’s technology breaks down into the following elements:
- Container creation: Each 100% reusable and natural container is made with organic materials like reed flour from French wetlands. There’s also castor oil, which is 100% BioSource and grown in India, with GMO-free non-forested soils. Plus, talc powder extracted from Ariege makes the container impact and bend resistant.
- Customization: Although you can’t create custom containers from scratch, you can design a collection of reusable, sustainable, and stylish containers to suit the kinds of foods you’ll be selling and your sizing needs.
- Container management: All of Pyxo’s containers are fully trackable throughout territories with the use of scanning codes. It’s also possible to identify users by pairing/unpairing certain companies to specific containers.
- Logistics: Coordination between various stakeholders in the value chain means you can access an all-in-one solution for packaging which includes access to shipping, restocking, and even washing dirty containers.
- Payment: To ensure containers aren’t lost or stolen, retailers can use a deposit system. Pyxo makes it possible to manage the lockers which contain these products via digital tools of the brand, through existing electronic payment solutions or proprietary tools.
Already, countless restaurant owners are working with Pyxo to create a new, more sustainable approach to packaging. Though the company mostly focuses on restaurants right now, it plans to reach out to retailers and supermarkets from a range of environments going forward.
Pyxo Review: Ease of Use
Pyxo knows one of the biggest hurdles to embracing a sustainable solution for food packaging and management is the extra work which may seem to be involved. With this in mind, the company commits to delivering a completely convenient user experience on a day-to-day basis. There’s a frictionless interface for managing your orders, and the system is free to use.
When you implement Pyxo, you’re given a QR code to identify yourself on the Pyxo app, which helps the company to take care of your specific needs for you. You can set up specific requirements and settings within the app and follow and manage deposits in real-time in the same interface.
From end-to-end, Pyxo offers a comprehensive life cycle for packaging. Restaurant owners can outsource cleaning requirements to specialized companies who provide a batch of clean containers whenever they come to pick up the containers for the day. These contracting companies also scan cups, containers, and anything they’re cleaning to take care of it.
Customers can also order take-out food and bring it home in reusable containers, then use an app to find the nearest collection point. Pyxo is already looking into concepts like gamifications and small deposits to help incentivize customers to make the returns.
As an added benefit, Pyxo is in the process of obtaining various forms of regulatory approval, such as ISO 27001 and ACPR certifications to protect all of the data managed in its system. With the pending B-corp status, Pyxo is committed to reinforcing its societal and environmental focus as a growing startup business.
Pyxo Review: Pricing
At present, there’s no transparent pricing information to show how much each container will cost for your business. This is because the startup is requesting its clients to reach out and get a customized quote based on their specific needs. Once you get your requirements ironed out, you’ll be given a QR code you can use in the app to identify yourself and your containers.
Notably, once you’ve purchased your reusable containers, using the rest of the service is free. As long as you return the containers and continue to use them as intended, you can maintain your new packaging for the whole lifecycle of the products without having to pay additional fees.
The network of lockers allows users to implement zero-waste catering opportunities which significantly reduce environmental impact and cost at the same time.
Pyxo Review: Customer Service
Customer service and support is the heart beneath the Pyxo service, and it’s why so many companies, like Five Seasons Ventures, Eurazeo and other market leaders have gotten involved with this brand. Every fast food chain or restaurant company working with Pyxo gets their own NFC codes to track their inventory, which also makes it easier to serve these customers too.
Last year, Pyxo began significantly growing it’s presence as a French corporate catering service company, with press reports from market leaders like TechCrunch highlighting its commitment to innovative service. Everything from tracking your containers to making sure they get cleaned is as easy as possible. This is because Pyxo wants as many people from France and the European Union to sign up for the service as possible.
According to Benjamin Peri, co-founder of the Pyxo brand, the vision is to build a comprehensive network of pyxobox owners who can invest in an environmentally friendly system, with minimal stress and fuss. The start-up believes it won’t take long to make a significant change to the environment if more of the restaurant industry gets involved.
Pyxo Review: Potential
As food tech companies go, Pyxo is one of the brands capturing the most attention in today’s sustainability-focused market. The pandemic didn’t just lead to the rise of remote work and flexible employment, it also forced companies to think more carefully about health, budgets, ecology and sustainability.
Fast food restaurant chains are likely to be particularly valuable to the industry Pyxo wants to create, because a single client will have a ton of restaurants either around the country, or worldwide. These groups could also help to incentivize other actors to get involved in the network, which will allow Pyxo to continue growing.
Currently, Pyxo is just getting started, with only a handful of restaurants using the service, but the company is rapidly gaining both interest and funding. The start-up expects to be working with around 2000 points of sales in the restaurant industry by the first of January 2023. If this worked out, Pyxo would continue to work with catering and food tech companies, but they would represent a smaller portion of the overall business.
Pyxo Review Verdict
Pyxo is one of the most exciting companies to enter the reusable packaging environment for some time now. Although it remains to be seen whether this service will be an incredible success, it definitely has potential. The ease of use and commitment to streamlined customer service will help the brand to thrive as it reaches out to a wider range of potential businesses.
Comments 0 Responses