SapoCycle
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersBasel, Switzerland
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
SapoCycle firmographics
Firmographics- 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
SapoCycle industry classification
Industry- 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
Where SapoCycle is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Basel
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
SapoCycle business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Support 1 Family - 10 CHF donation |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium Membership for Hotels |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
SapoCycle product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use SapoCycle
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
SapoCycle technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
SapoCycle partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic, major, corporate, supportive, operational, academic and distribution.
- ESAT Adapei Papillons BlancscoreFrench 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.
- WohnWerkcoreRecycling 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.
- PlanzercoreSwiss logistics partner providing professional collection services. Picks up full SapoCycle containers from hotels and delivers empty ones. Also supports liquid toiletries transportation.
- Earth CheckstrategicWorld'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)strategicAcademic partner that collaborated with SapoCycle to develop the soap recycling process. Conducted 2016 study showing 90% CO2 reduction compared to incineration.
- UNHCR Switzerland and LiechtensteinmajorDistribution partnership for refugees. 1,700 recycled soaps distributed through Bernese Oberland Asylum Association to refugees from Colombia and Ukraine.
- Tischlein deck dichmajorSwiss organization rescuing surplus food and redistributing to people in economic hardship. Longstanding partnership for combined food and hygiene distribution.
- Schweizer Tafel (Swiss Table)majorDistributes surplus food daily across Switzerland. Partnered to distribute 2,000 recycled hotel soaps to social institutions in German and French-speaking cantons.
- CaritasmajorRegular distribution partner in Switzerland for hygiene articles to families in need through Caritas market locations.
- RochestrategicRoche micro-secondment program paired employees with SapoCycle to develop operations manual enabling social franchising. Six-month collaboration completed in late 2021.
- Johnson & Johnson SwitzerlandstrategicCompetence sponsorship program developed entire supply chain for liquid toiletries recycling from collection to distribution. Skills-based volunteering support.
- Swiss International Air LinescorporateCorporate partner collaborating on sustainability initiatives. Participated in December event to refurbish 1,300 Swiss Business and First Class amenity kits for people in need.
- VictorinoxcorporateSwiss manufacturer partnering with SapoCycle and Swiss Airlines on collaborative sustainability and social impact initiative.
- PermamedsupportiveSwiss pharmaceutical company donating empty bottles and providing bottles for liquid soap distribution. Financial supporter of liquid recycling launch.
- Bring Plastic Back / InnoRecycling AGoperationalPartnership 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)academicAcademic partner in hospitality education supporting SapoCycle's mission.
- Volunteers for HumanitydistributionTransported 900 recycled hotel soaps to Greek Island of Kos for families supported by Glocal Roots.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SapoCycle competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging 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
SapoCycle social profiles
Digital presenceSapoCycle financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SapoCycle leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
SapoCycle subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
SapoCycle funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SapoCycle M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SapoCycle
What does SapoCycle do?
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.
Is SapoCycle a public or private company?
SapoCycle is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was SapoCycle founded?
SapoCycle was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SapoCycle based?
SapoCycle is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does SapoCycle make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are premium Membership Program, corporate Donations and Sponsorships and skills-Based Volunteering Partnerships.
Who are SapoCycle's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Winnow Solutions and Too Good To Go. Broad incumbents are Sealed Air, EarthCheck and Diversey Holdings. Others are Caritas Switzerland and Lomi (by Pela). Direct peers are Soap Aid, Global Soap Project and Clean the World Foundation.
Does SapoCycle have an API?
No public API is recorded for SapoCycle.
What industry is SapoCycle in?
SapoCycle's product category is Soap Recycling and Hygiene Distribution Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAAAE, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Emergency Services, with a secondary code of HLAJAKAI, WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Organizations. Its NAICS code is 624210 and its SIC code is 8300.