The Bristol-formed business behind the world’s first origami self-watering plant pot has won the Sustainable Garden Product of the Year award at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.
POTR was launched in Bristol five years ago by former Dyson engineer Andrew Flynn to create a pot that was not only good for the planet, but also looked beautiful and has an in-built watering system. 
Following its success at Chelsea, the firm has held talks with investors in the US, UK and EU.
POTR pots are already available in 100 stores across Japan after sealing a six-figure deal with Bloomee, one of the country’s largest horticultural brands.
It is also set to launch in Scandinavia, Australia, the Middle East and the US later this year.
Andrew, pictured with fellow POTR director Eilidh Cunningham, spent six-and-a-half years at the household appliance group, becoming its lead industrial designer. He came up with the idea while sitting at home staring at his houseplants during lockdown. 
Working with a team of designers, he conducted a lifecycle analysis of traditional plant pots to find out the carbon hotspots.
That sowed the seed for an origami flatpack design that uses recycled polypropylene and recycled cotton that would have otherwise ended up in landfill.
POTR’s products use 90% less material than traditional plant holders while its unique design means it can be posted to customers and delivered via their letterbox, so keeping its carbon footprint low.
The Sustainable Garden Product of the Year competition is open exclusively to trade stand exhibitors at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. 
It celebrates the horticultural industry’s efforts to promote eco-friendly and ethical consumerism within the gardening sector.
Off the back of the award, POTR, which is now based in Glasgow and Bristol, sold more than £60,000 worth of pots at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Competition judge Deborah Meaden, pictured above with Andrew Flynn, known as Swampy by her fellow entrepreneurs on TV pitching show Dragons’ Den as she believes green is the only way to succeed in business, described POTR’s products as “deeply sustainable from the word go”.
She added: “You can see that they’ve thought about absolutely everything – sustainability was designed in.
“It’s a brilliant material that they’re using, it’s recycled, and it can be recycled again. But it looks cool and it’s flat packed – it can go through your letterbox.”
Fellow judge, visiting Professor of Sustainable Business at University of Huddersfield Business School, Chris Harrop OBE, praised POTR for embracing “a holistic approach to sustainable design, resulting in a unique product which places environmental impact at the core of the product design”.
Andrew, who gave up his job last year to focus on POTR full time as a result of its success, said winning the award and seeing the reaction from customers at the show once again showed the team was heading in the right direction.
“Everyone is thinking about the impact of everything they do and buy, environmentally and socially. And our products certainly seem to catch people’s imagination,” he added.
“Our growth is exciting, and I’m proud that the most respected investor in sustainable products shares that excitement.
“We have some exciting calls with investors in the US, UK and EU off the back of Chelsea and we’ll certainly be following up with Deborah to see if she wants to join us on our journey!”
Last year POTR launched its first flat pack vase that includes a copper stem inspired by the centuries-old hack of using coins to keep flowers fresh, healthy and alive.
Both the pot and the vase are available to buy online, at retailers across the UK and US, and through flower delivery giant Bloom & Wild.
