Zélo is reinventing local grocery and urban logistics through smart zero-waste technology.
Our innovation lies in a QR-code based system that ensures full traceability and transparency for every reusable container.
Each QR code links to a digital product label showing the product’s origin, description, expiry date, and weight — without the need for disposable packaging.
Customers never pay for containers. A smart monitoring script automatically tracks returns within 3 months, sends up to 3 reminders, and triggers invoicing only if a container isn’t returned.
This simple yet powerful system guarantees over 99 % of containers are returned.
QR-codes are scanned when orders are prepared and again when containers are received back at the depot — closing the loop on a circular, transparent, and scalable zero-waste model.
In 2025, Zélo is launching its franchise model to spread this technology and make sustainable living accessible across Swiss cities.
Inspired – Final ranking
Zélo finished 17th out of 174 international impact projects and as the first Swiss project in the ranking.
What inspires me most is not complexity, but proof.
Proof that combining reusable packaging, cargo bike delivery and local sourcing can reduce carbon impact by more than 90%.
Proof that a simple QR-code system on each reusable container can replace disposable labels, ensure full traceability of products and containers, and eliminate deposit payments for customers — while maintaining a 99% return rate.
Sustainability does not always require breakthrough technology.
Sometimes it requires redesigning everyday systems so that the sustainable choice becomes the easiest one.
Thank you for the support.
Now, back to building.
Final hours on Inspired.
Grateful to see Zélo currently in the Top 20 and first Swiss project in the ranking.
Whatever the final position, thank you for the support and momentum 🙏
Final stretch on Inspired
Zélo has now reached the Top 30 — something that seemed unlikely a few days ago.
What encourages me most is seeing that practical, local and low-tech sustainability can resonate beyond our region.
Whatever the final ranking, this momentum confirms that impact built step by step still matters.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to support 🙏
Why building impact takes time
Sustainable models rarely scale overnight.
They grow through iteration, trust, and consistency.
Zélo was built step by step — testing, adjusting, learning from real use on the ground.
Seeing this approach resonate on Inspired confirms that long-term impact still matters.
What impact does a zero-waste grocery service actually have?
At Zélo, sustainability is not a slogan — it’s measured in daily operations.
Thanks to a simple QR-code system and clear return rules, more than 99% of our reusable containers are returned. Not because customers are perfect, but because the system is designed to make the right behavior easy.
Real impact comes from practical design, not from ideal assumptions.
Behind the scenes of Zélo: building a zero-waste grocery service is less about tech than about trust, logistics, and consistency.
Our QR-code system didn’t start perfect — it evolved through real-life use, returns, mistakes, and learning.
Impact is built step by step.
🌍 Zélo — delivering a cleaner, smarter future.
Our mission is to make sustainable grocery shopping effortless through local delivery by bike, reusable containers, and a unique QR-code tracking system that ensures 99% of containers are returned.
Discover how we combine technology, logistics, and community to create a truly circular economy in Switzerland.
🎥 Watch our story 👇
#CircularEconomy#ZeroWaste#Innovation#UrbanMobility#Sustainability#Switzerland
🚴♀️ Zélo is redefining zero-waste grocery delivery!
We’ve built a QR-code tracking system that allows full traceability of every reusable container — showing the origin, expiry date, and product details, while ensuring 99 % return rates.
Our mission: to make sustainable consumption effortless and accessible across Swiss cities.
🌍 Based in Vaud, Switzerland – now expanding through a franchise model to accelerate local impact.
#CircularEconomy#ZeroWaste#Sustainability#Innovation#UrbanMobility
