Materialscout

What Materialscout does

Materialscout is a Munich-headquartered, founder-led circular materials consultancy established in 2015 by Efrat Friedland. The firm combines technical materials knowledge with design and manufacturing expertise to advise clients on selecting and sourcing sustainable materials for future-proof products. Its core offering is a professional services portfolio segmented across four client types: brands (materials strategy, research, and education), design agencies (materials-led design and workshops), material suppliers (connectivity, exposure, and trend books), and material start-ups (mentorship, market reports, and testing). Revenue is generated through quote-based, tailored consulting engagements with enterprise clients across automotive (BMW, Brose), consumer electronics (Huawei, Leica), home appliances (B/S/H, Bosch, hansgrohe), fashion/apparel (Canada Goose, Loewe), materials/chemicals (LyondellBasell, Neste), sanitation (Jomoo), and design (Aruliden, designworks, COBE, Fluid), with distribution driven by direct sales, referrals, founder-led conference speaking, and LinkedIn presence.

The company's underlying technology and IP reside in its proprietary circular-economy methodology, sustainability assessment frameworks, and curated materials expertise, augmented by a distributed network of senior specialists located in London, Paris, San Diego, Helsinki, and Frankfurt, plus formal collaborators covering product design (NVGTR), LCA and eco-design (E-HOCH-3), textiles (4OPTIONS), and design engineering (Forward Engineering). In 2021, Materialscout co-founded Positive Plastics, a tangible product line of curated sample kits for environment-friendlier polymers (PCR, PIR, mass balanced, bio-based, bio-composites), representing the firm's primary move beyond pure consulting toward productized offerings.

Name

Materialscout

Legal name

materialscout

Website

https://materialscout.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Materialscout is a Munich-based circular materials consultancy founded in 2015 that advises brands, design agencies, material suppliers, and material start-ups on sustainable materials selection, sourcing, and strategy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Materials Consulting Services

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging & Product Brand Design (BPAFAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable & Certified Materials (Organic, Recycled, Traceable) (CRAAAMAK), Lightweighting & Material Reduction Solutions (Downgauging, Right-Sizing) (IMALAMAG), Compostable & Bio-Based Packaging (PLA/PHA, Starch Blends, Cellulose Films) (IMALAMAB)

Keywords

• Circular materials consulting
• Sustainable materials strategy
• Materials research services
• Eco-design advisory
• Materials strategy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Materialscout generates revenue through consulting engagements with brands, design agencies, material suppliers, and material start-ups. Services include materials strategy, research, mentorship, market reports, and education programs tailored to client needs in the circular economy of materials.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Materialscout is a circular materials consultancy that combines technical materials knowledge with design and manufacturing understanding. The firm helps brands, design agencies, material suppliers, and material start-ups select and source the best materials for future-proof products, applying circular economy practices, sustainability, aesthetics, and innovation across materials strategy, research, education, mentorship, and market reporting engagements.

Product overview

Materialscout is a circular materials consultancy offering a unified service portfolio combining technical materials knowledge with design and manufacturing expertise. The company serves four distinct client segments: brands (Materials Strategy, Materials Research, and Materials Education services), design agencies (Materials-led Design and Materials Education), material suppliers (Materials Connectivity, Materials Exposure, and Positive Plastics kits), and material start-ups (Materials Mentorship, Materials Market Reports, and Materials Testing). The core offering is a consultancy-based approach applying circular economy practices, sustainability, aesthetics, and innovation to help clients select and source the best materials for future-proof products. Positive Plastics, co-founded in 2021, is a notable sub-brand offering curated sample kits of environmentally friendlier polymers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Materials Strategy Expert analysis and strategic guidance to help brands develop circular materials strategies, addressing materials selection, compliance, supply chain, and end-of-life solutions. Targeted at global brands in automotive, consumer electronics, home appliances, medical devices, and telecommunications.
• Materials Research Specialised identification of alternative circular materials and suppliers, including materials evaluation and sourcing for renewable and net-zero production, for brands seeking sustainable material options.
• Materials Education (for Brands) Tailored training on responsible use of materials through eco-design practices, including talks, workshops, and reports on sustainable practices and regulatory requirements, for corporate brand teams.
• Materials-led Design Bridging materials knowledge from design to manufacturing by introducing design teams to material suppliers and innovative processes, exploring materiality to support design intent. For design agencies needing material expertise.
• Materials Education (for Design Agencies)

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Positive PlasticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Co-founded with materialscout in 2021, Positive Plastics creates curated kits of samples of innovative, commercially available environment-friendlier polymers including post-consumer recyclates (PCR), post-industrial recyclates (PIR), mass balanced, bio-based, and bio-composites. These kits serve as an invaluable tool for materials understanding and communication between non-technical and technical team members.
• NVGTRminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a collaborator under 'Our Collaborators' section. NVGTR (Navigator) provides product design expertise to the materialscout network.
• E-HOCH-3minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a collaborator under 'Our Collaborators' section. E-HOCH-3 provides LCA & Eco-Design expertise to the materialscout network.
• 4OPTIONSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a collaborator under 'Our Collaborators' section. 4OPTIONS provides textiles consultancy expertise to the materialscout network.
• Forward EngineeringminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a collaborator under 'Our Collaborators' section. Forward Engineering is a design engineering partner in the materialscout network.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Material ConneXion: Global materials consultancy and library offering materials research, trend forecasting, and sustainability advisory to brands and designers. Direct comparable to Materialscout's materials strategy and research services across fashion, packaging, and industrial design clients.
• Materfad: Barcelona-based materials center affiliated with FAD providing a physical materials library and consulting to designers and brands. Comparable niche focus on materials selection, innovation, and circular economy, serving European design and brand clients.
• Materio: French-origin materials library and consultancy curating innovative and sustainable materials for designers, architects, and brands. Comparable offerings to Materialscout including trend books, sample kits, and material strategy advisory.
• Circle Economy: Dutch circular economy consultancy providing strategy, research, and tooling to brands and governments on circular materials and supply chains. Directly comparable to Materialscout's circular materials strategy and research work for enterprise clients.

Broad incumbents

• Carbon Trust: Established sustainability and low-carbon advisory serving large enterprises across multiple sectors with circular economy, materials, and supply chain services. Broader and more generalist than Materialscout but competes for the same brand-level sustainability mandates.
• Quantis: Sustainability consultancy specializing in environmental impact assessment, including materials footprint and circularity, for Fortune 500 brands. Comparable client base and topic overlap with Materialscout but with a broader service portfolio and global scale.

Emerging players

• Eco Intelligent Growth: Barcelona-based consultancy advising consumer goods and industrial brands on eco-design and circular materials. Comparable niche focus on integrating sustainable materials into product design for brand clients.

Others

• GreenBiz Group: Media and advisory platform focused on sustainable business, with consulting and research services touching circular materials and supply chains. Adjacent to Materialscout through shared enterprise sustainability audience and thought leadership.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/materialscout/?viewAsMember=true

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Materialscout