EU startups to watch in 2020

The European economy had a rough year in 2019. It started off with our anxieties about the effect of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) all across the EU. We were wondering whether it would prove a serious hit to the economy, ultimately to go relatively unnoticed.

Then there were those unending talks about the UK leaving – and simultaneously not leaving – the European Union, which finally ended when the Brexit finalized on January 31, 2020. Although we still need to see the actual results of these processes by the end of this year, we can say that the impeded process didn’t do any good for the EU economy.

Even more difficult 2020

And we haven’t even started talking about how this year started. On the one hand, sure, the US finally made an agreement with China in their trade war, however, everything went South when a new epidemic broke out from a Chinese city Wuhan. The COVID-19 virus, also known as the Coronavirus, has, in a short period of time, spread all across the world and infected almost 1.5 million people.

It goes without saying how the global economy, as well as the European economy, suffered amid the panic. For that reason, creating a new startup in the EU will be even more painstaking and difficult than before, and before there were lots of burdensome guidelines concerning the environment, data protection, and many more.

But it’s not to say that the new startups have no chance of establishing themselves in the EU market. To demonstrate this point, let’s take a look at the top 3 European startups that are set to have an interesting 2020 year.

LottoStarlet – traditional and innovative lottery in one place

The lottery has been around in the iGaming business for a very long time. In fact, the word and the industry of iGaming weren’t even conceived yet when people enjoyed this game in their neighborhoods. So, how did LottoStarlet, a Malta-based iGaming company manage to turn a basic lottery game into a niche product?

Well, the first thing it did was bring some of the most brilliant minds of the gambling industry who have built some of the apps of Spinia Österreich, as well as for the other brands of European operators, and use their expertise to build a unique online lottery experience.

And to ultimately arrive at the best iGaming experience, LottoStarlet employs some of the most innovative techniques available on the market. As the company notes, “The lottery market is mature but lacking innovation,” which is what their main goal is: to combine the existing know-how in the lottery segment and mix it with new technology.

UFO Drive – Rent an electric car

Just like lotteries, there’s nothing new about a car rental company, especially in the EU. There’s plenty of companies that operate in this field and it’s pretty difficult to somehow distinguish yourself as yet another player. But UFO Drive, a startup company with offices in Germany, Netherlands, UK, and many other European countries, has managed to do exactly that.

Unlike having a clunky and obsolete website that rents out regular petrol cars, which has become mainstream in this business, the UFO Drive website is a modern-looking platform that lets customers get an electric car of their dreams.

Just take a look at their car selection and you’ll be bombarded with various manufacturers like Tesla (Model 3, Model S), Jaguar I-Pace, and many more. And this year, the company is planning to expand throughout the rest of the continent, extending sustainable driving all over Europe.

Loquo Foods – Cheese from plants

The world is increasingly going eco-conscious. Every year, we see innovative startups and individuals coming up with new ways of replacing our current meat-based diet with environmentally-friendly products. In this sense, 2019 was a great year with some companies such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods reaching incredible market shares.

The year 2020 has already proved successful for a Stockholm-based company called Noquo Foods. Early this year, the company was able to raise some €3.3MM in their attempt to create the first plant-based cheese. That’s right: being a vegan and environmentally-conscious doesn’t mean people need to sacrifice probably the biggest dairy phenomenon – cheese.

Even though the startup is still in the lab stage, the prospects are looking pretty great. As scientists predict, by the year 2023 we’ll probably see the global market share of dairy products rise to almost $600 billion where non-traditional products will have a spotlight.