Kleen Hub
Tap your payment card to borrow a reusable cup, no app and no deposit
Kleen Hub's Tap & Reuse system lets a customer borrow a chipped reusable cup or container by tapping a payment card, Apple Pay or Google Pay on a small RFID pad at the counter, working alongside the existing payment terminal. If the item is not returned within the return window the card is charged; otherwise nothing is billed. The company reports 98%+ return rates and about four weeks to go live.
Our reading. Best for independent cafés and small chains that want reusable takeaway cups without asking customers to install an app or pay a deposit.
Strengths
- No app, no registration and no cash deposit for the customer
- Works next to any existing payment terminal, no POS change
- Fast rollout for small cafés
Limits
- Very small company at pre-seed stage
- Requires the venue to stock and wash chipped cups
- Pricing not public
Copenhagen pre-seed startup with a 1–10 person team; Tap & Reuse live with cafés in Denmark and pilots in the UK and Europe
Kleen Hub ApS, Applebys Plads 7, Copenhagen; early pilot with Coffee Collective; reusable containers trialled with Kesko K-Supermarket in Finland; founders Simone Favorito, Robert Dichtl and Giuseppe Lanzafame
- https://thehub.io/startups/kleen-hub-aps
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/danieladelorenzo/2023/10/09/this-danish-startup-bets-on-bank-card-tapping-to-mainstream-reusable-packaging/
- https://www.kleenhub.com/