The platform

A QR code. A 20-second interaction. Four stakeholders served.

No hardware. No app. No IT integration required to start. Utilitarian captures consumer identity, product data, and compliance records from a single in-store moment. White-label by default — your brand, not ours.

20s
Customer interaction
92%
AI identification accuracy
€1–3
Cost per email captured
4 wks
To deployment
How it works

The customer journey — on their own phone, in 20 seconds

The customer scans a QR code on a poster near the collection point. Everything happens on their phone — no app download, no staff involvement. The store team continues as normal.

1
Scan QR
Poster in-store, mobile web
No app download required
2
Snap photo
AI identifies the product
Brand, model, category
3
Enter email
GDPR-compliant opt-in
Explicit consent, timestamped
4
Get reward
Discount issued instantly
Voucher, loyalty points, or credit
5
Hand in product
As they already do
Nothing changes for store teams
Product identification

AI that works on worn products, not catalogue images

92%
Identification accuracy on live deployments
Trained on worn, scuffed, faded products as they actually look when customers bring them back. Not pristine marketing shots. The customer takes a photo on their phone and the system identifies the brand, model, and product category.
Works on worn, dirty, and damaged products
Brand and category identification from a single photo
Customer confirms — human-in-the-loop for accuracy
No barcode or label scan required
Category-agnostic: footwear, textiles, electronics, batteries
What it captures

Every take-back generates a structured record

Consumer identity
Email with explicit opt-in, timestamped, GDPR-compliant. Ready for CRM.
Product data
Brand, model, category via AI photo recognition. 92% accuracy on worn products.
Store & date
Location-stamped. Store-level reporting from day one.
Circular outcome
Tracked from consumer handover to recycler. Auditable chain of custody.

All data is exportable via CSV or API. Structured for CRM integration, CSRD reporting, and EPR compliance — not locked in a proprietary system.

White-label by default

Your brand on every screen. Ours nowhere.

The customer sees the retailer's brand throughout — on the mobile flow, the thank you email, and the reward. Utilitarian runs the infrastructure. The retailer owns the relationship.

Branded mobile flow
Retailer logo, colours, and messaging on every screen the customer sees. No Utilitarian branding.
Branded emails
Thank you email comes from the store with their branding, their reward, their website link.
Configurable rewards
Discount codes, vouchers, loyalty points, or charity donations. Each retailer sets their own incentive.
Multi-store, multi-brand
One platform instance supports multiple retail brands, each with their own branding and reward configuration.
Who it serves

Three audiences. One 20-second interaction.

Retailers
A new owned channel at €1–3 per email
  • Email capture with product data attached
  • Configurable incentive drives repeat visits
  • CRM integration via API or CSV export
  • CSRD and EPR reporting data built in
  • Store-level dashboard with weekly reporting
Recyclers
Visibility before the box arrives
  • Structured intake data before collection
  • Box tracking and weight allocation
  • Automated store-level billing reports
  • Free consumer app for your retail clients
  • One flat fee — all clients, all stores
Brands
See what happens after the sale
  • Product lifecycle dashboards
  • Category share and competitor benchmarking
  • Cross-retailer aggregation
  • CSRD / EPR ready compliance data
  • Retail media layer for brand engagement
Data output

What the dashboard actually shows you

Real-time visibility across stores, products, and circular outcomes. No waiting for quarterly reports.

Take-back volume by store
Daily, weekly, monthly. See which stores are performing and where to focus.
Brand and category breakdown
Which brands are being returned, in what condition, at what volume. Intelligence no other channel provides.
Email capture rate
Conversion from take-back to subscriber. Track incentive effectiveness across stores.
Circular outcome tracking
From consumer handover to recycler receipt. Auditable chain for CSRD and EPR reporting.
Deployment

Four weeks to live. No IT project.

Week 1–2
Programme setup
Branded flow, reward configuration, dashboard access.
Week 3–4
Go live
Poster artwork, QR codes live, store team briefed (10 minutes).
Store setup
A poster with a QR code
No hardware, no app installation, no IT integration.
Staff training
None required
Customer self-serves. Store teams continue as normal.
4 weeks
To deployment
0
Staff training hours
3–1,500
Store scalability
Beyond the store

Take-back at events, races, and pop-ups

The same platform, deployed anywhere

Marathon expos, brand activations, community runs, pop-up events. The QR-driven flow works anywhere a poster can be placed. Capture take-backs, emails, and product data at events where your customers are already gathered — then route everything to the same recycler and CRM.

Same flow
QR + mobile web
Same data
Email + product + outcome
Zero setup
Print poster, go live
What our partners say

Proven in-store with real customers

"We even see customers coming back specifically to hand in their shoes and collect their reward — which shows the system is working very well in terms of building loyalty and repeat visits."
Rowen Slagter-Pormes
Management, RunnersWorld Hoorn
"What makes this data valuable is not just transparency, but control. For the first time, we can link consumer returns at retail directly to operational circular outcomes."
Danny Pormes
CEO, FastFeetGrinded
"The combination of simplicity, customer engagement, and data-driven transparency is what makes this approach stand out. This is exactly the direction our industry needs."
Ron Bruinenberg
Retail & Expansion, EK Netherlands
"The steps were self-explanatory. Customers responded positively. Customers are very curious about what actually happens to the shoes."
Wim
Entrepreneur, Intersport Ermelo

See the platform in action

One conversation. Let's see if it's a fit.

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