Starting a business is not just for people in their mid-twenties. Proof of this can be found in the form of a former Vorwerk engineer and a tech-savvy businessman with their start-up Xinco. Dr Alexandros Zachos and Thomas Ifland set out in 2019 to develop kitchen appliances that would last a lifetime and declare war on electronic waste. Their flagship product is the Kezzel induction-compatible kettle, which switches itself off automatically. The NRW.Europa team at ZENIT GmbH supported them from the founding of their company to the launch of their product.

It was a long road until the innovative kettle hit the market in June 2023. The founders had set themselves a lofty goal: to create a completely new class of sustainable kitchen appliances – a mechanically self-switching kettle for induction hobs. Unlike conventional electric kettles, this innovation does not require any electronics of its own and needs neither integrated heating elements nor power cables.

This required a research project that would combine the environmental friendliness of classic stovetop kettles with the convenience and safety of automatic shut-off. And all without generating electronic waste. The challenge was solved by integrating a shape memory alloy that reacts to temperature changes as a purely mechanical actuator.

The kettle's success is proven by its sales performance. Since it was featured on the TV show ‘Die Höhle der Löwen’ (The Lion's Den) at the end of 2024, it has been sold out. Reproduction is underway, which is urgently needed as the sustainable product is now available in 15 European countries.

Support from start-up to product launch

The Enterprise Europe Network helped Xinco align its R&D concept with the framework for tax research allowances. The advice included structuring the scope of the project and the documentation to meet the criteria of scientific uncertainty, novelty and non-routine development. In addition, assistance was provided in clearly integrating commissioned research partners. As a result, the company received €100,000 in public funding through the research allowance, laying the foundation for successfully approaching investors on the basis of the developed prototype.

Over the years, support has already been provided in the early start-up phase, in tool development for initial samples, and in the strategy process around internationalisation with information on potential markets and international business partners.

‘Every founder knows the phases of euphoria, but also moments of despair when things and processes come to a standstill. We are no exception. This makes good support, such as that offered by the NRW.Europa team at ZENIT, all the more important.’
Thomas Ifland and Dr Alexandros Zachos

Contact to the NRW.Europa-Team: 

ZENIT GmbH / Enterprise Europe Network 
für Nordrhein-Westfalen NRW.Europa 
Sergej Paveliev / Adina Golombek-Tauyatwala
Telefon: ++49 208 30004-52 / -55
E-Mail: Sergej.Paveliev@zenit.eu  / Adina.Tauyatswala@zenit.eu

Contact to the Enterprise and product infos: 
https://www.kezzel.de/

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