Circular economy: closing a loop in the takeaway food industry. Can reCIRCLE expand abroad? Students present recommendations to the company.

32 bachelor students from Bern and 68 students from Prague have successfully completed a live case in the specialisation International Business Management by developing recommendations for market entry and a possible expansion abroad. They analysed the markets of various EU countries and assessed the market potential for reCIRCLE. This allowed them to develop promising market entry strategies for selected EU markets.

reCIRCLE is a Bernese start-up with a circular business model based on a lunch box as a service – so called "reBox” for take-aways, restaurants and canteens. reCIRCLE has established itself in the Swiss market with over 1,000 network partners and is currently considering expanding abroad.

The students presented their results to the company's representatives in Prague. Present were CEO Jeannette Morath, Christoph Hugi, member of the board of directors and Jan Havranek, who will start the expansion project to the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The reCIRCLE representatives were happy and satisfied with the students' project results. "The results will significantly support our management decisions", said board member Christoph Hugi and: "The enthusiasm of the students, the modern management tools applied and the knowledge generated are impressive and have exceeded our expectations". CEO Jeannette Morath added: "The cooperation with the Bern University of Applied Sciences Business School was very enriching. I was impressed by the enthusiasm with which the students performed the market research. The quality of the presentations was very high. reCIRCLE is now well prepared for international expansion."