Industrial Waste Turned into Design Products

What challenge are you aiming to solve with your idea/startup?
SoKa Design Studio is an innovative design house that reduces resource waste and promotes ESG goals as well as the competitiveness of B2B companies by developing locally produced interiors and corporate gifts made from upcycled industrial waste that would otherwise be discarded.

We do this because we are facing a global resource shortage, which we as Industrial Designers feel a strong responsibility to help counteract.
The problem is highlighted by the fact that Denmark had already used up its annual resources by March 19, 2025, while more than 1 million tons of industrial waste go to waste. Upcycling holds significant potential here, with up to 40% lower capital costs and 67% lower CO₂ emissions when designing products from upcycled materials rather than recycled ones.

How has the AAU Startup Grant contributed to your development?
The AAU Startup Grant has contributed to accelerating our transition from a startup to a scalable and sustainable business. The grant has enabled us to continue our rapid prototype generation, which is crucial for fast testing, product development, and scaling of our business model. This ensures shorter development cycles and allows us to manage more customers and larger collaborations. In the long term, the grant will also support our efforts to achieve B Corp certification, which is important for collaborating with larger industrial companies and strengthening our credibility within ESG.

What are your next steps?
Our next steps are to scale our business concept to larger players and new value chains using new types of residual materials, as well as to increase the volume of our recycled acrylic products. In the longer term, we aim to achieve B Corp certification, expand into new waste materials, and hire more employees in sales, marketing, and operations to support our growth.