GS1 US announced that Kadeya, a startup offering the first closed-loop beverage vending system, won the $10,000 first-place grand prize in the fifth annual GS1 US Startup Lab Pitch Competition.
The winner of the competition, Kadeya, presented a sustainability breakthrough with its patent-pending kiosk that washes, sanitizes, inspects and refills bottles, combining a bottling plant with a dishwasher and a soda fountain in a unit the size of a vending machine. Kadeya's smart bottling station forward and reverse vends reusable, digitally identifiable bottles.
The GS1 US Startup Lab Pitch Competition showcases emerging technologies that can significantly improve supply chains to support more effective commerce. Each participating startup presented a new product launched since June 2020. Entries were judged by a panel of technology experts from leading companies. Finalists were evaluated on their solutions' innovation, performance, usability and potential societal impact, as well as their effective use of GS1 Standards.
The winners were revealed during a live ceremony at GS1 Connect, June 5-7 in Denver, Colorado.
"Each of the companies that participated in the GS1 US Startup Lab Pitch Competition are leveraging GS1 Standards to optimize their innovative technologies with digital data sharing that benefits all trading partners," Melanie Nuce-Hilton, senior vice president, innovation and partnerships, GS1 US, said in the announcement. "Kadeya was chosen for its ability to enable waste reduction, support a more circular, sustainable economy and drive supply chain efficiencies."
About GS1 US
GS1 US, a member of GS1 Global, is a not-for-profit information standards organization that facilitates industry collaboration to help improve supply chain visibility and efficiency through the use of GS1 Standards, the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world. Nearly 300,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading partner collaboration that optimizes their supply chains and drives cost performance and revenue growth while also enabling regulatory compliance. They achieve these benefits through solutions based on GS1 Global's unique numbering and identification systems, barcodes, Electronic Product Code (EPC)-based RFID, data synchronization and electronic information exchange. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC).
