Bring Back

1 founder, 2 salaried managers - 3 temporary line operators.

At the head of Bring Back is Laurent Halmes, founder and CEO. An engineer by training (HEC Liège), he first created the start-up Namy, focused on GDPR, before working in IT at Lampiris. In 2020, he founded Bring Back, with the ambition of offering a concrete industrial solution to reduce single-use glass. Today, he oversees general coordination, R&D, finance, project management, and commercial strategy.

Alongside him is Céline George, Operations Manager, who holds a master’s degree in Supply Chain from HEC Liège and joined the team in August 2024. Fluent in four languages, she manages order tracking, logistics, accounting, and continuous improvement on a daily basis.

On the industrial front, Aloys Nyssen, a trained mechanic, became Head of Production and Technical Operations in January 2025 after a year of training. He supervises production management, stock, maintenance, and the development of the washing line.

The current team consists of 3 full-time equivalents, supported by temporary staff on the production line, where four people work daily. With future automation, the goal is to reduce this number to two while increasing efficiency.

Bring Back also plans strategic hires as the company grows, including a Sales Manager in 2028, a Logistics Manager in 2031, and Administrative and HR support in 2032.

Laurent Halmes

Founder & CEO

Céline George

Head of Operations

Aloys Nyssen

Production and Technical Manager

Each year, the European agri-food industry generates billions of single-use glass packaging items, primarily destined for recycling. This process, energy-intensive and costly, relies on melting at 1,500°C in factories abroad, with a significant carbon footprint. According to Zero Waste Europe (2022), only 3% of glass packaging is currently reused, even though such practices could reduce lifecycle-related emissions by up to 80%. In Belgium, the reuse sector remains underdeveloped and is limited to a few standardized formats for large companies. Small producers and artisans lack suitable solutions and face major constraints: storing empty containers, complex sorting and cleaning processes. Additionally, using single-use packaging exposes them to high waste taxes, which are significantly reduced in a circular model. On top of that come the reliance on new glass, volatile energy prices, and increasing regulatory pressure. The European target of 10% reusable packaging by 2030 now seems out of reach without large-scale industrial initiatives. The market is in need of a simple, reliable, and economically viable alternative to make reuse accessible—especially as societal and retailer demand continues to grow.

In response to the environmental emergency and the limitations of recycling, Bring Back offers an industrial and structured solution to the challenge of reusing food containers. Its approach aims to provide producers and distributors with a simple, standardized, and economically viable alternative to single-use packaging. Bring Back combines the management of producers’ existing containers with the provision of ready-to-use, reusable packaging tailored to their needs.

Once used, the containers are collected via an organized logistics network through wholesalers, then sorted, washed at 80°C, inspected, and reconditioned to begin a new cycle. This model ensures consistent quality and allows each container to be reused around 25 times, significantly reducing waste and emissions.

The relevance of this solution is confirmed by rapidly growing volumes—over 1.5 million units washed in 2024—and strong partnerships with major Belgian wholesalers and distributors. Demand is also increasing due to regulatory pressure and societal expectations, pushing producers to integrate reuse solutions into their business models.

Bring Back’s offer enables them to outsource the complex management of containers, control their costs, and focus on their core business. With infrastructure scaled to support growth and a continuously expanding network of partners, Bring Back is now positioning itself as the missing industrial link to structure an ambitious circular packaging sector in Belgium, with a vision for expansion at the European level.

Bring Back is developing a robust business model centered on the reuse of food containers, in response to growing demand on the Belgian market. The company combines two revenue streams: on the one hand, custom washing of specific formats owned by certain clients, and on the other hand, the "pool" service—a rental system for standardized reusable packaging under the BB-Pack brand, which includes the provision, collection, and washing of these containers.

This hybrid model secures recurring revenue and adapts to different customer profiles. In 2024, Bring Back achieved a turnover of €324k, with over 2.5 million units in its portfolio and a secured target of 2.6 million units for 2025. Profitability is gradually improving thanks to increasing volumes and a semi-automation project aimed at reducing production costs.

The five main clients account for half of the revenue, including Grafé Lecocq, Brasserie Artisanale de Namur, Conserverie Moutarderie Belge, and Brasserie Lupulus. The company collaborates with more than 45 wholesale partners, including major retailers such as Carrefour, Delhaize, and Colruyt, ensuring strong visibility and wide distribution.

The value chain is based on a smooth operational flow: delivery of ready-to-use packaging to producers, filling and commercialization, retrieval of empty containers via wholesalers, followed by collection and processing by Bring Back before re-entering circulation.

The main suppliers of new bottles and jars are Verallia and O-I, helping to feed the system as demand grows. With a solid foundation and pioneering position in Belgium, Bring Back aims to structure this sector and establish itself as the leading industrial player in food container reuse, while preparing for expansion into the Netherlands and Germany.

• Massive reduction in CO₂ emissions

By reusing containers up to 25 times, Bring Back aims to generate annual savings of over 14,000 tonnes of CO₂ once full industrial capacity is reached.

• Lower water and energy consumption

Industrial washing uses 30% less water and significantly less energy than recycling, greatly reducing the environmental impact of the glass lifecycle.

• Very low rejection rate and waste reduction

Less than 5% of collected containers are permanently rejected after inspection, ensuring optimal resource use and a significant reduction in waste.

• Reduced burden for producers

By outsourcing logistics and benefiting from a fixed rate, producers save on waste taxes, labor, and storage, while staying focused on their core business.