THE opti BOX AWARD 2022: who’s going to be the best start-up from the opti BOXES?

I start saying the Opti has always believed in me, in us, in Behind My Glasses, since the very beginning. Opti got in touch with Stefano and I the very first year of the creation of this blog and never let us down. I’m beyond grateful and I’m moved by the fact that, even if the pandemic hit us all, the Opti team got back to me again, asking to be part of this new project: THE opti BOX AWARD 2022 (see more here).

First of all, what’s THE opti BOX AWARD 2022?

After many years of the Blogger Spectacle Award (see more here) the show has decided to spice it up and to create a new award focused on eyewear start-ups. This competition differs from the Blogger Spectacle because there’s a jury which is going to award one of the 12 brands based on four categories: fashion, sustainability or functionality, technology and marketing… guess who’s the marketing judge!? That’s right! It’s going to be me! Dr. Jürgen Bräunlein, editor-in-chief of eyebizz, Giovanni Graffweg from Optik Breiderhoff in Essen, Bettina Reiter, Exhibition Director of opti and I are crowning the star-up the year!

I’m beyond honoured to be part fo this project: I think many of you don’t know, but I work, as a main job, as a marketing specialist, so it’s quiete a reward for me to be in charge of this aspect of the THE opti BOX AWARD 2022.

Let’s discover the brands!

LEINZ Eyewear Berlin (opti BOX 1). For two years now, the founder, managing director and designer Beate Leinz has been combining traditional Italian eyewear handcraft with state-of-the-art 3D printing technology from Germany.

 

Frameshaper Eyewear (opti BOX 3) also attaches great importance to sustainability. The local production in Leipzig minimises the delivery distances and material shipping.

 

At MYDOT (opti BOX 5), it’s also all about individuality. Customer advisor, Sabrina Giordano, explains what lies behind the noticeable “dots” on the lightweight frames: “We don’t know the background stories of many people around us, and we should be understanding about all their views and characteristics. Because these are their pivotal issues.”

 

MITA Sustainable Eyewear (opti BOX 6), founded in 2020 in Florida, impresses with its natural sophistication in design, materials and production – and through its recycling principle: A stylish pair of MITA glasses consists of five recycled PET bottles.

 

Proud Eyewear collections (opti BOX 7), from Valencia in Spain, are also manufactured in a very special way, as founder Marce Garcìa proudly explains: “We use five hinges and a safety screw in all spectacle frames.”

 

RAYDIANT (opti BOX 11) from Cologne offers an exciting clip system and the possibility of custom-made designs.

 

In opti BOX 10 we can find O-CCX EYEWEAR. Peter Meyer, who founded the Osnabrück start-up, said: “With their individual design aesthetic, the glasses can cover the nose area, or even accentuate special facial features, if desired.”

 

According to the team of Reframd (opti BOX 13), led by Shariff Vreugd and Ackeem Ngwenya, all spectacle frames are made to order, eliminating the need for inventory and wasting a minimum of resources.

 

Also at opti BOX 13 we find LooC, another Berlin company that has a new feature to present in Munich – measuring the face to identify the perfect frames. LooC’s products are equally suitable for spectacle manufacturers, stationary opticians, online retailers and ophthalmologists.

 

At MUNIK (opti BOX 8) no old spectacle frames are ever thrown away, but instead donated; new models are produced in small quantities and designed to be stable for long use.

 

Planet Pop by p5 Consulting (BOX 4) is presenting its environmentally-friendly children’s eyewear collection. Each pair of glasses is made of 47 percent plant-based, renewable, BPA-free material, sold in 100 percent sustainable, renewable cork containers and with a recycled microfibre cloth for the spectacle lenses.

 

LEGENDS (opti BOX 12) has also only been around since 2021, and they’re very excited about being present at opti 2022: “We are already delighted to have taken another step towards participating in a real community,” is the message from Fürth in Franconia. Like the majority of opti BOX award candidates, LEGENDS has fully committed itself to sustainability,

 

The opti BOX AWARD will be presented on Saturday 14 May 2022 at 12:30 in the YES independent design area in Hall C2 at the opti BOXES.

The prize is endowed with a voucher for opti stand rental for 2022 and 2023 of 1,000 Euro each, plus marketing PR support from the partners eyebizz and Ebner Media Group worth a four-digit amount.

I can’t wait to see you all at opti Munich for the Box Award! It’s going to be an amazing experience and an occasion to finally come together and celebrate this incredible industry.