SapoCycle

Name

SapoCycle

Legal name

Fondation SapoCycle

Website

https://sapocycle.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Soap Recycling and Hygiene Distribution Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Emergency Services (BPAGAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Organizations (HLAJAKAI), Industrial Laundry & Textile Waste Services (Non-hazardous) (EUAIAGAI), Donation Pickup & Reuse Hauling (HSAKALAI)

Keywords

• Soap recycling services
• Hotel waste management
• Hygiene product distribution
• Social franchise nonprofit
• Disability employment program

Headquarters

HQ city

Basel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Primary revenue model based on donations from individuals and organizations. Donors contribute CHF 10 or more and receive Hüüsli recycled soap products as thank-you gifts. The donation shop operates on a 'Bubbles Saving Lives' premise.
2. Premium Membership Program: Hotels pay a small annual fee for Premium Membership which covers soap recycling costs and includes marketing tools, website listing, and door-to-door collection service. Successful in Switzerland since 2019 with 75 hotels, expanded to France in 2022.
3. Corporate Donations and Sponsorships: Financial support from foundations (Ernst Göhner, Pictet Group Foundation) and corporate sponsors through various actions and donations. Event fundraising such as Basel dinner party raising CHF 40,000.
4. Skills-Based Volunteering Partnerships: Partnerships like Roche micro-secondment program where employees volunteer skills. Johnson & Johnson provided competence sponsorship developing supply chain from collection to distribution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SapoCycle collects discarded hard soaps and liquid toiletries from European hotels, recycles them at workshops employing adults with disabilities, and distributes the repurposed hygiene products to families in need, refugees, and vulnerable populations. The Premium Membership subscription for hotels funds logistics (Planzer collection) and recycling operations, while individual donations and corporate sponsorships underwrite humanitarian distribution through partner NGOs.

Product overview

SapoCycle is a non-profit social enterprise operating the Bubbles Saving Lives program, which collects discarded hotel soaps and liquid toiletries, recycles them through workshops employing people with disabilities (in partnership with Wohnwerk in Basel and ESAT Adapei Papillons Blancs in Colmar), and distributes the repurposed hygiene products to families in need. The core product is the recycled Hüüsli soap collection, offered through a donation-based thank-you gift system. Additional services include the Premium Membership Program for hotels (offering logistics and marketing support), the Liquid Recycling Program for toiletries, and a Social Franchise Model for international expansion. The organization operates across Switzerland, France, and Germany, with recycling workshops providing employment to adults with disabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hüüsli: A collection of recycled hotel soaps transformed into thank-you gifts for donors. These miniature soaps are only available through donations to support families in need.

Products and services

• Premium Membership Program Annual paid membership for hotels that provides SapoCycle collection containers (against deposit), door-to-door pickup and delivery of full containers by Planzer logistics, marketing tools for sustainability promotion, and website recognition as a Premium Member. Available in Switzerland since 2019 and France since 2022.
• Liquid Recycling Program Service for hotels and partners to repurpose partially used liquid toiletries (shower gel, shampoo, conditioner). Liquids are repackaged into empty bottles (from Claraspital and Permamed) and distributed to families in need, while empty plastic containers are sent to InnoRecycling AG for material recycling. Developed with Johnson & Johnson Switzerland (supply chain), Planzer (logistics), Wohnwerk (recycling facility), and Permamed (financial support).
• Hüsli Recycled Soap Collection Recycled hotel soaps transformed by adults with disabilities at the Wohnwerk (Basel) and ESAT Adapei Papillons Blancs (Colmar) workshops, offered as thank-you gifts for donors in tiered bundles (Support 1 Family single 4cm soap, Support 2 Families 8-piece set, Support 10 Families thank-you card, Support 15 Families complete set) plus limited edition items such as the Hüsli Flako soap dish. Available only through donations starting at CHF 10.
• Social Franchise Model Franchise-style model that enables local organizations to replicate the Bubbles Saving Lives program in new countries, using an operations manual developed with support from Roche's micro-secondment programme. The first franchise was launched in Germany in 2024, after Switzerland (2015) and France (2018).

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to incinerating discarded soaps
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic, major, corporate, supportive, operational, academic and distribution.

• ESAT Adapei Papillons BlancscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017French institution hosting SapoCycle's Colmar recycling atelier. Thirteen adults with disabilities carefully recycle discarded hotel soaps into new bars. Workshop relocated from Mulhouse to Colmar.
• WohnWerkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Recycling workshop in Basel where adults with disabilities process collected hotel soaps. WohnWerk developed the recycling process in collaboration with FHNW, adapted for disabled workers. Ten people work daily at this facility.
• PlanzercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSwiss logistics partner providing professional collection services. Picks up full SapoCycle containers from hotels and delivers empty ones. Also supports liquid toiletries transportation.
• Earth CheckstrategicGTM or Marketing PartnerWorld's leading scientific benchmarking certification for travel and tourism. EarthCheck refers certified hotels to SapoCycle for recycling services. CHF 100 donated to SapoCycle for every new Premium hotel acquisition.
• Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW)strategicTechnology or IntegrationAcademic partner that collaborated with SapoCycle to develop the soap recycling process. Conducted 2016 study showing 90% CO2 reduction compared to incineration.
• UNHCR Switzerland and LiechtensteinmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDistribution partnership for refugees. 1,700 recycled soaps distributed through Bernese Oberland Asylum Association to refugees from Colombia and Ukraine.
• Tischlein deck dichmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss organization rescuing surplus food and redistributing to people in economic hardship. Longstanding partnership for combined food and hygiene distribution.
• Schweizer Tafel (Swiss Table)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributes surplus food daily across Switzerland. Partnered to distribute 2,000 recycled hotel soaps to social institutions in German and French-speaking cantons.
• CaritasmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegular distribution partner in Switzerland for hygiene articles to families in need through Caritas market locations.
• RochestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoche micro-secondment program paired employees with SapoCycle to develop operations manual enabling social franchising. Six-month collaboration completed in late 2021.
• Johnson & Johnson SwitzerlandstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetence sponsorship program developed entire supply chain for liquid toiletries recycling from collection to distribution. Skills-based volunteering support.
• Swiss International Air LinescorporateGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner collaborating on sustainability initiatives. Participated in December event to refurbish 1,300 Swiss Business and First Class amenity kits for people in need.
• VictorinoxcorporateGTM or Marketing PartnerSwiss manufacturer partnering with SapoCycle and Swiss Airlines on collaborative sustainability and social impact initiative.
• PermamedsupportiveOthersSwiss pharmaceutical company donating empty bottles and providing bottles for liquid soap distribution. Financial supporter of liquid recycling launch.
• Bring Plastic Back / InnoRecycling AGoperationalTechnology or IntegrationPartnership since 2022 for recycling hotel liquid toiletries plastic bottles. Empty bottles collected and sent to InnoRecycling for processing into new packaging.
• Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne (EHL)academicTechnology or IntegrationAcademic partner in hospitality education supporting SapoCycle's mission.
• Volunteers for HumanitydistributionChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTransported 900 recycled hotel soaps to Greek Island of Kos for families supported by Glocal Roots.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Winnow Solutions: Hospitality-focused food waste technology company helping hotels measure and reduce waste. Comparable as a niche sustainability player selling into the same European hotel buyer.
• Too Good To Go: European social impact company rescuing surplus food from hospitality businesses. Adjacent in operating Europe's hospitality partnerships for waste reduction and surplus redistribution.

Broad incumbents

• Sealed Air: Global packaging and hygiene solutions company with hospitality exposure. Comparable as a broad incumbent with waste-reduction capabilities overlapping SapoCycle's sustainability narrative.
• EarthCheck: Scientific benchmarking and certification body for travel and tourism, and an active GTM partner referring certified hotels to SapoCycle. Comparable as a sustainability-certification player operating in the same hotel ecosystem.
• Diversey Holdings: Global hygiene and sanitation solutions provider serving hospitality and healthcare. Relevant at the broad category of commercial hygiene services intersecting hospitality, though not a soap-recycling specialist.

Others

• Caritas Switzerland: Major Swiss humanitarian aid organization distributing soap and hygiene supplies to vulnerable populations, and a downstream distribution partner of SapoCycle. Comparable as a WASH/humanitarian distributor.
• Lomi (by Pela): Consumer at-home composting appliance brand marketed on household waste reduction. Thematically adjacent sustainability/eco-impact hardware brand, useful as a consumer-side eco counterpoint.

Direct peers

• Soap Aid: Australia-based social enterprise recycling hotel soap and toiletries for humanitarian distribution in the Asia-Pacific. Directly comparable operational model and beneficiary focus.
• Global Soap Project: U.S. nonprofit recycling hotel soaps for global hygiene aid, later merged with Clean the World. Comparable bar-recycling value chain serving similar beneficiaries.
• Clean the World Foundation: Global hospitality-driven soap recycling nonprofit that collects partially used bars from hotels, reprocesses them, and distributes to communities in need. Closest direct comparison to SapoCycle in mission, model, and partner base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sapocycle
• Facebookfacebook.com/sapocycle.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondation-sapocycle
• Instagraminstagram.com/sapocycle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 SapoCycle