Amazon has officially opened applications for the third instalment of the annual Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards. This exciting competition offers support to emerging, innovative European startups and a chance to win a grand prize, that includes €100,000, a featured placement on the Amazon Launchpad store, and one year of free access to Amazon Launchpad, an exclusive programme for emerging brands, offering premium benefits and additional support to help grow sales on Amazon Marketplace.
Entries are open until July 31st to European startups selling physical products to shoppers. All entries will be judged individually by a judging panel that will vote for the winner. The winner will have free access to Amazon Launchpad for one year and placements on the Amazon Launchpad storefront within the Amazon Marketplace as well as the €100,000 grant prize. The awards will also recognize country-specific winners across UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands with the local winners receiving €10,000 Startups applying for the award must be brand owners, registered in the European Union (the UK and Switzerland included), and have less than 250 employees with an annual turnover lower than €50 million.
The 2023 judging panel is made up of four industry experts: Andy Fishburn, Managing Director of Virgin Start-up; John Vincent, Co-founder of LEON; Simona Barbieri, Founder & Creative Director of Hubdot; and, Alessandro Giudici, Director of the Executive MBA at Bayes Business School. They will select products based on their aesthetic, design, uniqueness and differentiation, but also social, ecological and economic sustainability aspects are considered in the judging criteria.
This year’s awards follow the success of the 2022 awards where thousands of startups across Europe applied to participate in the challenge, including hundreds of UK startups. A panel of experts shortlisted 20 companies with innovative products and confirmed an overall winner.
In 2022, Petit Pli, who pioneered sustainable clothes that grow with children, were named the UK’s ‘Startup of the Year’ and won the grand prize. “Winning the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Award has really helped us grow our reach. As a result of the prize money, Petit Pli was able to drive up its order quantities to invest in more inventory to ensure more stock availability as well as begin to open up wholesale opportunities. We’re even entering a new market, Japan!” said Ryan Mario Yasin, Founder of Petit Pli.
“We are very excited to bring the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards to European entrepreneurs for the third time. Every year we are impressed by the talent within the startup industry, with incredible products and companies entered for consideration,” said Xavier Flamand, VP Amazon EU Seller Services. “Amazon Launchpad has supported over 2,700 emerging brands since it launched, and these awards demonstrate our continued commitment to supporting brands that are shaping the future and delighting our customers. This year we are also thrilled to be judging the awards in person and have an excellent panel who will be rewarding these emerging businesses.”
To learn more about the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards, visit the UK site here.
