What is a Digital Reusable System?

Vytal is a digital reusable system. But what exactly does that mean? You're probably familiar with reusable systems, especially from reusable bottles. A reusable bottle is produced, filled, sold, used, and then returned – it’s cleaned, and the process starts again. Our Vytals work exactly the same way.

The difference with us is that our system is deposit-free, and you can track digitally where our reusable containers have been and how many disposable packaging items have been saved as a result. This not only gives our customers the satisfaction of knowing they've made a difference, but it also shows our partners the positive impact they’ve already made with us. Both customers and partners can see in their statistics how much disposable packaging has already been saved.

Thanks to your support, we have already saved over 5 million disposable packaging items (as of December 2022) and we’re far from finished. We continue to pursue our goal of making reusables the standard because: Reusable is THE way forward!

How Does the Digital Reusable System Work?

The journey of one of our reusable containers, let’s call it "Goldstück" for our example, typically starts in our warehouse. Our main warehouse is in Cologne, but we also have smaller warehouses in other major cities. From here, the containers are sent locally by our drivers or climate-neutrally via DPD to our partner locations. "Goldstück" is sent out, and upon arrival and first scanning, it enters the restaurant's inventory. There, our Vytals wait for their next use. After an order, there are two ways "Goldstück" reaches you (hopefully only temporarily, because that’s how it’s sustainable):

• You order food to-go in Vytal at the restaurant.
  The restaurant either scans the QR code of "Goldstück" and your personal QR code through our partner app, or you scan the QR code of "Goldstück" yourself using the self-scan function in our customer app.
• You order food via Vytal, Lieferando, Uber Eats, or Wolt in Vytal.
  Here, the Vytal delivery token must be included as a comment with the order. This is done automatically for orders placed directly through Vytal. After preparation, the restaurant staff enters the delivery token into our partner app and can already book all the Vytals needed for the order to your account. The food is delivered, and the Vytals are correctly assigned.

"Goldstück" is now in your possession. After a maximum of 14 days (the earlier the return, the more sustainable it is), you return "Goldstück" to the same or a different partner restaurant. "Goldstück" will be scanned, cleaned, and ready for reuse. Over its lifecycle, "Goldstück" may pass through several restaurants, canteens, or cafés – and its entire journey is traceable in our system. When "Goldstück" is no longer usable due to damage, it is returned to the warehouse and recycled. Thanks for your loyal service!

As you can see, scanning is an essential step in our system, as it allows us to track where the container currently is, where it’s been, and how much disposable packaging has been saved through it. "Goldstück" can be reused up to 200 times if used properly, so make sure to take good care of it and its fellow containers!

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