After winning the German-Austrian preliminary competition at Westfield Centro Oberhausen, Adrian Goosses, co-founder of Airpaq, has also won the European final with his backpacks made from automotive industry waste. The Cologne-based company will receive a large package to drive its growth: In addition to a retail space at one of its locations in Germany and customized support from URW retail experts, Airpaq also gets a media plan tailored specifically for it by URW’s own retail media agency Westfield Rise.
Anne-Sophie Sancerre, Chief Customer & Retail Officer, said: “A huge congratulation to Airpaq for winning the Westfield Grand Prix Europe. We take great pride in our commitment to support emerging, innovative businesses, particularly those with strong sustainability commitments and positioning. We look forward to working with Airpaq over the coming years, helping them realise their potential and facilitating their success through the strength of the Westfield network, exposing them to the millions of visitors who come through our doors.”
Adrian Goosses, Co-Founder at Airpaq, comments: “We’re very honoured to have won not only the Westfield Grand Prix for Germany & Austria, but also the pan-European contest amongst such pioneering startups from France, the UK and Spain. Winning this prize gives us the opportunity to boost our next steps in the retail industry, and also pursue our engagement and our ambition to inspire everyone to embrace a greener, sustainable lifestyle.”
In this year’s 15th edition, the Westfield Grand Prix was expanded to include France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. Airpaq was selected from the winners of each national Westfield Grand Prix competition, which also included Biicou from France, Known Source from the UK and PJ.Lobster from Spain. The focus of the startups was on sustainability and innovation, in line with the Better Places sustainability roadmap of the competition organizer.
The Westfield Grand Prix was launched back in 2007 to identify the most promising brands in the retail, food, leisure and services sectors, and then to support them further down the line. The competition also aims to present new, innovative concepts to consumers. To date, 50 start-ups have already received awards, including Yellow Korner and Jimmy Fairly.
