Tide Ocean, CAZ Cascara and Burgdorf ReWorks lead the way in the Bern Upcycling Challenge

(CONNECT) Tide Ocean from Lengnau in the Swiss canton of Bern, Marolini GmbH from Meilen in the canton of Zurich, and Schwob AG and SAZ Burgdorf have emerged as the top-ranked companies in the Bern Upcycling Challenge 2026.

The winner of this year’s challenge is Tide Ocean SA, which processes marine plastic into high-quality plastic granules for industry. In so doing, the company works closely with local communities in Southeast Asia. Second place went to Marolini with its CAZ Cascara brand, which produces a naturally caffeinated soft drink from the pulp of the coffee cherry. This allows for the sustainable use of coffee cherries as a methane-rich by-product of the coffee processing industry.

Schwob AG and SAZ Burgdorf (a training and job center for disabled people) completed the podium in the Bern Upcycling Challenge 2026 with their joint project Burgdorf ReWorks – Dr Stoff im Kreis. The project aims to close textile cycles in the Burgdorf region of the canton of Bern and breathe new life into discarded fabrics from the hotel, restaurant and residential sectors.

To this end, Schwob AG contributes high-quality textiles and long-standing experience in the field of textile production, while SAZ Burgdorf handles the handcrafted processing at its workshops. The result is the creation of items such as bags and purses, washbags, or gift and promotional items from discarded bed and table linens.

A total of six companies were given the opportunity to pitch their projects to the expert jury. The awards were decided in accordance with the criteria of regional link, market and innovation potential, and connection to upcycling.

For Saskia Günther, president of the jury for the Bern Upcycling Challenge, the award-winning projects all show that the circular economy is no longer a future concept, but in actual fact is already being implemented in a commercially viable way today: “The crux of the matter is that these solutions are not only environmentally friendly, but also work in the market”. ce/ja