Situation
Impackt started in September 2021 with a simple MVP placed in a HEMA store, then still operating under the name ReAlliance. That first version used Raspberry Pi hardware, a barcode scanner, and a touchscreen to scan packaging and reward consumers.
Shortly after, we began building a fully redesigned consumer-facing application under the name Impackt, aiming to make in-store recycling easy, rewarding, and measurable. In contrast to the national deposit (statiegeld) system for PET bottles, Impackt introduced a reward system for packaging without deposit value, giving fast-moving consumer goods a second life.
Consumers earned Impackt Points for every product returned, which could be exchanged for in-store discounts or redeemed at online partners. All the retuned packages were recycled to granulate by one of our partners.
Challenge
- Incentivise consumers to return packaging to retail stores
- Motivate repeat consumer behaviour in a busy retail setting
- Match scanned products to accurate packaging and material data
- Scale performance and maintain reliability across growing locations
What we did
- Built the MVP from scratch using Raspberry Pi hardware and a custom touchscreen UI
- Migrated the platform to a scalable web stack and backend
- Transitioned from SQL to Neo4j to model product-packaging-material relationships
- Scraped and validated thousands of product records to enable accurate CO₂ tracking
- Designed and built the full frontend, backend, and infrastructure in-house
- Supported multiple pilots and retailer rollouts, including Wibra
- Acted as both technical team and product partner during sales and implementation
Result
- Over 75 retail locations live at peak
- More than 100,000 bottles scanned and recycled
- Real-world consumer engagement with repeat usage
- Set the foundation, in tech, experience, and partnerships, for StatieApp and future reuse systems
- Discontinued commercially due to a mismatch in product–market fit and a viable business case for partners.
Impackt showed what’s possible in retail when loyalty, sustainability, and consumer tech meet, even when the commercial timing wasn't right.
