The Vision

The vision of the startup is to offer a full infrastructure of a take back solution, where they ensure that clubs and players can easily dispose the rackets correctly. The goal is to offer a full circular system sustaining a zero-waste solution, where old rackets are recycled into new rackets.

The problem

Padel rackets are handcrafted under poor working conditions in the Far East without any focus on sustainability. They are made from climate intensive materials such as carbon fiber and liquid plastics, resulting in a significant impact of 54,55 kg of CO2e per racket. The manufacturers are not equipped with the necessary protection gear for post-processing of the carbon/glass-fiber products ultimately exposing their employees to hazardous dust from the fibers.

In the end over 36,000,000 padel rackets are thrown out annually, which accumulates to 13,500 tons of non-recyclable waste (1,963,704,1267 tons CO2e). This number will increase significantly as padel is the fastest growing sport in the world. By introducing an innovative and recyclable racket, we can reduce the environmental impact and waste generated significantly.

The product

In sport it has proven difficult to sell products only based on sustainability, especially if performance is sacrificed for the case, as performance is the name of the game. Therefore, we have developed a unique structure, that gives our racket the ability to spin the padel ball as never seen before. This technology is in the process of being patented and will allow us to enter the B2C market with a sustainable and recyclable padel racket that does not sacrifice performance, but instead delivers responsible performance. In contrast to the industry's current unsustainable practices, our solution represents an ideal cradle-to-cradle approach: products with low CO2e impact, manufactured responsibly and locally, which are recycled at the end of their lifecycle.

The market

The global padel racket market is booming. In 2021 in Denmark, the number of courts and players increased by 300%, and now there are more than 90,000 players and 1,330 courts. Based on a 2-month lifespan for each rental racket at a cost of 280 DKK per racket it sets the yearly value of the rental racket market at 8.9 million DKK. In a survey we conducted involving over 600 participants, we revealed an average 8-month lifespan for rackets among private players, which values the Danish consumer market at 160 million DKK per year. The global padel racket market is valued at 2.4b DKK annually and is expected to exceed the value of tennis by 2028 as the market is currently emerging in big nations such as Germany, UK, France and the US.

The team

A – CEO and Co-founder, MSc in Design and Innovation. Focuses on business development, product development, partnerships, financing, and customer engagement. He has experience in eco-design and the development of product-service systems. During his studies, he co-founded DinLokale and was the first employee at the startup company Primetime Denmark.

B – CTO and Co-founder, MSc in Design and Innovation. Responsible for product development and testing, supply chain, and IPR. Throughout his studies, he worked in large companies, bringing experience from Oticon and LEGO in product development, as well as environmental strategy development from Novo Nordisk and Engineers Without Borders.

Founding team supported by a strong group of industry experts and advisors.

Status

The company is currently building up sales channels and refining the demo product. As part of this effort, the company is in the process of building partnerships with two of Denmark’s premier padel clubs, Racket Club and Rocket Padel, who are interested in selling the rackets at their high-end centers. Additionally, discussions are ongoing to sell through an exclusive dealer, Transocean Sport, to Lyngby Boldklub sponsors and their padel network. Permission secured to advertise for a year on a Facebook page that reaches 20,000 padel players, free of charge. Very positive feedback received on the play experience with the product, and a fully functional demo product is expected to be ready by the end of May.