July 31, 2025 What to do with festival gear waste? Startup offers solution

Outzip is tackling the waste left behind at music festivals by offering on-site gear rental for campers. We explore how this Berlin startup aims to change first-time outdoor experiences and make gear access more efficient, from festivals to hiking trips.

For many young people, their first brush with outdoor equipment isn’t a mountaintop hike – it’s a muddy music festival. Often, they buy cheap tents and gear for the occasion, only to leave them behind after a weekend of partying. Outzip, a Berlin-based startup, has found an opportunity to reduce that waste.

Founded by Kai Meier and Eloy Padilla in late 2024, Outzip began as a platform focused on renting high-quality outdoor gear. But unlike many rental services aimed at overstock reduction or marketing optics, Outzip integrates circular thinking from the start. And while festivals have given Outzip a breakthrough, the startup’s ambitions stretch further.

Suston reach out to the co-founder Eloy Padilla to learn more.

Eloy Padilla is a Berlin-based entrepreneur with a background in circular business models and e-commerce. Before co-founding Outzip, he led an environmentally focused online retail platform. At Outzip, he heads product and operations.

How did you get the idea to launch Outzip?

ELOY PADILLA: The idea formed over time, as Kai and I each explored solutions to inefficiencies in the outdoor gear space. I had worked on a curated marketplace for sustainable brands, and Kai had prototyped a gear-carrying system for bike travelers. We both saw potential in rentals as a more efficient, circular model. When we connected, our experiences aligned naturally. Outzip emerged from our shared desire to make outdoor access easier and less wasteful – using technology to connect people with the equipment they need, when they need it, without forcing ownership or creating unnecessary production cycles.

Besides the collaboration with festivals, what differentiates Outzip from other rental services in Germany?

Outzip is more than a rental service – we’re building infrastructure that enables circular access to gear at scale. While some platforms focus on either B2C rental or SaaS solutions, we bring both together. Our system supports logistics, customer interface, and partner integration. We work with local shops, brands, and even tourism offices, helping them digitize rental processes, increase gear usage rates, and build long-term customer loyalty. What sets us apart is our deep understanding of outdoor gear ecosystems – everything from product durability to seasonal demand – and our ability to turn that into usable tech for partners across the industry.

What are your plans and vision for the future?

We’re expanding into winter activities and looking to onboard more retail and destination partners by the end of the year. Our 2025 goal is to roll out our full platform and begin scaling across Germany. We’re currently in talks for pilot programs with major outdoor chains and exploring opportunities to bring our model abroad. At the same time, we’re preparing a new funding round to support this growth, that’s set to launch in September 2025.

Our big vision is to provide more accessibility to outdoors while preserving it – reconnecting humans with nature. We are committed to become the rental platform that powers circular retail at scale – efficient, accessible and profitable.

Credit: Outzip

Lead Image: Unsplash