Mums Who Build Spotlight: Karolin Maiwald — Building a Circular Future with BOIDEL
Starting a business often begins with a small frustration that refuses to go away. For Karolin Maiwald, that moment came every time she left a shop with yet another plastic bag — or watched delivery services drop off groceries wrapped in layer after layer of unnecessary packaging.
“I think we all know that cupboard full of bags within bags,” Karolin laughs. “At some point, I just thought — this can’t be the best we can do.”
That thought turned into BOIDEL, a circular deposit system for reusable shopping bags. Much like Germany’s bottle deposit model, BOIDEL allows customers to pay a small deposit, use the bag, and return it at a participating store. It’s a simple idea with the potential for massive impact — one that could make single-use shopping bags obsolete.
“Make sure your business actually fits your life as a parent, not just whether you can squeeze it into your day, but whether the model truly allows for flexibility.”
Turning Frustration into Action
The seed for BOIDEL was planted long before Karolin became a mother. She’d always been conscious about sustainability, but after having her daughter, the urgency hit differently.
“Once I had a child, everything changed,” she says. “You realize you’re literally raising someone who’s going to inherit this planet. I wanted to live in a way that matched the future I want her to have.”
But living sustainably as a working parent isn’t always easy. Between daycare runs, deadlines, and daily chaos, convenience usually wins. “I wanted solutions that were simple, affordable, and actually fit into real life,” Karolin says. “And I couldn’t find many.” So when she and her then-colleague, Julian Faust, began venting about wasteful grocery deliveries, something clicked. Instead of just complaining, they decided to build the solution themselves.
From Idea to Impact
Like most founders, Karolin and Julian started small — with research, prototypes, and a lot of uncertainty. “As founders, we live in the unknown,” Karolin explains. “Will a retailer say yes? Will customers actually use it? Can we afford to keep going another month?” Despite the uncertainty, their persistence paid off. The first pilot partner, Edeka Birol in Fahrenzhausen, agreed to trial BOIDEL.
“I remember standing in their store, seeing our bags at the checkout for the first time,” Karolin recalls. “It hit me — it’s real. This thing we imagined actually exists now.”
That moment wasn’t just validation of an idea; it was proof that consumers and retailers are ready for change.
BOIDEL bags at the Edeka Birol in Fahrenzhausen
The Balancing Act of Motherhood and Entrepreneurship
When asked how she balances running a startup and raising a child, Karolin laughs. “Shared calendars,” she says immediately. “They’re my lifeline. Everyone in my household knows what’s happening and when. There’s no room for guessing.”
Her daughter, now nine, gives her more breathing room than the early years did, but the juggle remains. “There’s always this feeling of not doing enough — not enough for the business, not enough for my daughter, not enough for myself,” she admits. “I think that’s a founder thing and a mom thing combined. Some days I manage it better than others.”
Building a Business That Fits Your Life — Not the Other Way Around
Karolin’s advice to other mums thinking about entrepreneurship is grounded and refreshingly real.
“Make sure your business actually fits your life as a parent,” she says. “Not just whether you can squeeze it into your day, but whether the model truly allows for flexibility. Can you step away when your kid is sick? Can you work around school pickups? If not, it’s going to create tension fast.”
She also emphasizes the importance of aligning values with your co-founder. “Julian and I both understand that sometimes the kid comes first. There’s no guilt or resentment about it. That mutual understanding isn’t optional — it’s essential.” The same, she says, applies at home. “Your partner needs to truly understand what it means to start a business. It’s all-consuming in the beginning, and they have to be ready to pick up some of the load.”
How You Can Support BOIDEL
BOIDEL is still growing and looking for new partners in retail — especially supermarkets that share their vision for a circular economy. “If you know someone in retail or sustainability who could be interested, I’d love an introduction,” Karolin says. “We’re also looking for funding to scale — but honestly, even spreading the word helps. Tell your local store you’d love to see BOIDEL bags at the checkout, follow us online, or share our story. Every conversation counts.”
A Final Thought
Karolin’s story reminds us that innovation doesn’t always start in a boardroom. Sometimes it begins with a simple frustration — and the courage to act on it. For moms like Karolin, entrepreneurship isn’t just about building a business; it’s about building a future that aligns with their values, their families, and their hopes for the next generation.
Because when mums build, they don’t just create companies.
They create change. 💛
