Green logistics, made in Munich

With their reusable shipping boxes, the childhood friends Philip Mayer and Joshua Linn from Bavaria are shaking up the market. The two young entrepreneurs have developed an innovative packaging solution that’s now being used across Europe—one that even major corporations can no longer ignore.

Their Munich-based start-up, Ocean Package, was founded in 2021 with a clear mission: to make the shipping industry greener and smarter. Faced with overflowing bins—especially during the pandemic—they told themselves: “There has to be a better way.”

That’s how their innovative reusable packaging was born-durable, weather-resistant, and designed for up to 20 uses. According to Mayer, the polypropylene recyclate used for the boxes is made up of about 25% Ocean Stopped Plastic, collected near coastal regions of Indonesia. The vision behind it, he explains, is clear: “To free the oceans from plastic and create a closed material loop through sustainable reusable solutions.”

Today, around 45,000 of these boxes are in circulation across the Netherlands, Italy, France, Austria, England, and Lithuania. They’re especially popular in reverse and intralogistics and are ideal for returns, subscriptions, rentals, fashion, and e-commerce. Depending on the client's needs, the packaging can be replicated 1:1, “which means it can be seamlessly integrated into existing delivery processes,” says Linn.

How does this work in practice? Here’s one example: if a customer of a fashion retailer doesn’t like an item, they return it using the Ocean Package box. If everything fits, the customer simply folds the box—almost as flat as an envelope—and sends it back as well. The retailer can then reuse the box for the next shipment.

Four years after founding Ocean Package, the two friends who grew up in the same Munich neighborhood can now look back on an impressive portfolio of clients—including Outfittery, Toyabo, and Maison365. In recent months, Ocean Package has also begun working with logistics giant UPS Europe. For the two founders, now supported by a team of five employees, partnering with such a well-known company is a point of pride. 

Looking ahead, they have ambitious goals. “In Germany alone, five billion parcels are shipped each year—18 billion across Europe. That’s a huge opportunity for us,” says Mayer. He and Linn are currently developing a pooling system for their boxes—similar to the established bottle deposit model.