Start-up spirit and international group competence
Innoventures, Greiner’s innovation incubator, has the aim of seeing where the future is happening and with the taking of a strategic participation in the Viennese start-up temprify, has now brought off a stunning coup. Temprify has developed the idea of environment-friendly, transport coolers and has thus brought onto the market a resource-protective solution for the so-called “last-mile” problem.
Within the scope of its Innoventure activities, Greiner has taken an interest in the Viennese start-up temprify and has thus tied up two ends, which to until now were still loose. These consist of the know-how and infrastructure of a group with the innovative strength and agility of a start-up. With their binding, Greiner has moved an important strategic step forward in the start-up scene and has demonstrated its readiness to take new ideas on board.
In a nutshell, the Viennese start-up, temprify, which was founded in 2018, is the first company to offer transport coolers in the form of passive-cooled, returnable boxes, which use a dry-ice-free complete system. Moreover, the company also provides the related infrastructure. The new system guarantees the maintenance of the statutorily prescribed cold chain for foods ordered online and was developed specifically to meet the needs of e-commerce with regard to the daily delivery of cooled and deep-frozen foods. Consequently, as opposed to the last-mile solutions previously on offer, the start-up has created a favorably priced, climate-protective alternative, which functions without active cooling or dry ice.
This constitutes a sustainable product idea, which furnishes an answer to the last-mile problem in the foods sector and is therefore also of interest to Greiner. Owing to the previous need for active vehicle cooling and the use of dry ice, to date the last mile was especially cost-intensive. In future, together with temprify Greiner intends to further develop the current solution and therewith open up new paths from the manufacturer to the end customers. Moriz Lanzerstorfer, the temprify CEO, is more than happy to join forces with Greiner, “We are convinced that together with Greiner in the long-term we can become the technology leader in a rapidly growing market and thus make a considerable contribution to achieving a sustainable last-mile on both an international and inter-branch scale.”
In turn, resource-protective packaging and sustainable product design constitute a key element in the Greiner Group’s corporate strategy and a win-win strategy for both parties has thus emerged. This is because Greiner provides a wealth of know-how in the insulation, foam and food packaging area, while temprify contributes innovative product concepts and expertise with regard to the passive cooling of foods. The end result is a doubly positive impact upon the environment, as not only are CO2 emissions slashed by 90 per cent, but also food retailers benefit from a marked reduction in operative costs as compared to those required for dry ice and active cooling.
For Greiner CEO, Axel Kühner, fresh, innovative ideas constitute a key response to the material challenges of the future. “Good performance today does not represent a guarantee for corporate success tomorrow. Therefore, in order to secure long-term growth, Greiner will develop future business openings with the same degree of professionalism as that employed for the continuous improvement and expansion of existing business areas. Moreover, in this connection Greiner Innoventures will look to the spirit and tools of the start-up scene in order to be where innovation is taking place.”
The former Greiner Technology & Innovation department also recently moved closer to the heart of the start-up scene in a geographical sense by taking up residence in weXelerate, Austria’s innovation hub in Vienna. For as Innoventures CEO, Hannes Möseneder, stresses, “With our new location in the nation’s largest innovation hub, we are seeking to maintain intensive contacts with the founder scene and as of now will be constantly on the alert for possible investment opportunities that can also come from beyond the group’s core business areas. Indeed, work is constantly in progress with respect to the realization of new business models on the basis of internal and external ideas from outside our existing corporate structures.”
Greiner Innoventures will continue to cultivate intensive contact to the start-up scene and keep a constant look out for possible future minority holdings.
Caption: Mr Axel Kühner, CEO Greiner AG
