Brussels-based Borro has raised €1.3 million to expand its digital deposit system for reusable cups across Europe, with a near-term focus on the Netherlands, Germany and France. The round was backed by Seeder Fund, imec.istart, bluesnipe, PMV and butterfly & elephant, the corporate venture capital arm of GS1 Germany. The funding gives the startup fresh capital to scale a model designed to make reusable packaging easier for venues, event organisers and visitors.
Funding and Growth Plans
Founded in 2023 by Glenn Verhaege, Kasper Albers and Niels Willems, Borro is building the digital infrastructure behind cup and container reuse at high-volume locations. The company said the new investment will help strengthen its team and accelerate European growth during a busy summer season for sports, music and public events. It follows an earlier €350,000 funding round announced in November 2024, when Borro began positioning its system for wider deployment in Belgium and abroad.
How Borro’s System Works
Borro’s platform connects reusable packaging to a visitor’s bank card, replacing cash, physical tokens and manual refund processes with a digital deposit flow. When a user returns a cup or container to a smart collection point, the system recognises the item and triggers the deposit refund automatically. The company says this approach reduces friction for guests while giving organisers a clearer view of return rates, peak periods, collection points and overall system performance.
Technology and Operational Challenge
The startup has chosen not to rely on RFID technology, arguing that its alternative based on invisible codes readable by cameras can be simpler and more cost-effective. Each cup is uniquely linked to a payment, which allows Borro to track packaging through the process and reduce the risk of fraud. For venues, that traceability matters because reusable systems only work when return rates are high, queues remain manageable and operational costs do not outweigh environmental gains.
Market Momentum
Borro’s funding comes as reusable cups become increasingly common across European stadiums, festivals, concert venues and amusement parks. Regulation and public pressure are pushing event operators away from single-use packaging, but many organisers still face practical barriers around payments, logistics, washing partners and visitor behaviour. Borro aims to solve that gap by focusing on the software and payments layer rather than producing cups or handling cleaning itself.
Early Traction
The company is already active with Belgian football clubs including Club Brugge and KV Mechelen, and says millions of reusable cups have passed through its system. Borro has also highlighted AZ Alkmaar as the first football club in the Netherlands to move from traditional reusable cup tokens to its fully digital deposit system. In France, the startup has joined PSG Labs, Paris Saint-Germain’s innovation programme at Station F, and is preparing an implementation at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris.
The new financing strengthens Borro’s attempt to become a European reference point for digital deposit infrastructure in the event and venue market. Its next test will be scaling across different countries while maintaining speed, reliability and ease of use in crowded real-world settings. If Borro can prove that reusable packaging can be both sustainable and operationally efficient, it could play a meaningful role in Europe’s shift away from single-use event packaging.