2021 at Refork

We all know that 2021 was a challenging year filled with uncertainties. At Refork, 2021 was our best year yet, and we would love to share what we have accomplished with you!

Early in the year, we started with the monthly production of a million pieces of cutlery. It allowed us to collaborate for 3 months with Manifesto – the largest, most extraordinary and relaxing food hub in Prague. Over 10 thousand people used our cutlery during our stunt with Manifesto, providing enormous feedback and appreciation to our product. People began to enjoy their meals without jeopardizing the environment by using plastic.

We have also become proud members of the Association for Social Responsibility in the Czech Republic (A-CSR), the most significant initiative focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and CSR in the Czech Republic. Their vision is to make social responsibility and sustainability a natural part of business strategies. We were thrilled to help raise awareness by participating in and supporting their events during 2021, such as their volleyball tournament.

2021 had something extra special for us regarding awards and nominations. We were a semifinalist for the Hottest Sustainability/Climate tech startup organized by TechCrunch during the 2021 Europas Awards, competing with the best European startups from the field. We were named one of the top 10 most promising sustainable startups in the Czech Republic by CzechCrunch. During the 2021 SDGs Awards, we won the Moonshot Award for innovative projects. We are going to New York this year for the Moonshot Awards World Finals, giving us a chance to spread our message to a broader audience. The year could not have ended better as we notched the Green Tech Award by the British Embassy in Prague. We are humbled, thankful and grateful that we gained recognition last year.

What we accomplished made us appear in most Czech media, and prestigious organizations such as Forbes, Hospodarske Noviny and CzechCrunch interviewed us and published articles about us. We added several new team members to help us flourish in Sales by hiring our beloved Radka. In Marketing, our first non-Czech speakers were hired: Josh from the exotic Canary Islands and Anna from sunny California. Summer couldn't have been better for our brand. We shot our first campaign and continued being part of the most critical mission last year: Sustainability as the norm!

We had a jam-packed autumn tour and went to Cologne to attend the Anuga 2021 exhibition; Salzburg to participate in Alles fur Den Gast; Madrid to attend BioCultura; and Paris Marjolaine Salon. The best of it all is that we got a chance to compare, contrast and improve our product. Thanks to the amount of experience, feedback and new acquaintances we got from attending these events, we were able to see a bigger picture across Western Europe, putting us on the right fork of the road.

The end of 2021 was hectic for us as we moved to our new and more giant state-of-the-art factory and R&D center - but more on that later!

All in all, 2021 was a great year for sustainability.