Amazon has officially opened applications for the third instalment of the annual Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards. This exciting competition offers support to emerging, innovative European startups and a chance to win a grand prize, that includes €100,000, a featured placement on the Amazon Launchpad store, and one year of free access to Amazon Launchpad, an exclusive programme for emerging brands, offering premium benefits and additional support to help grow sales on Amazon Marketplace.

Entries are open until July 31st to European startups selling physical products to shoppers. All entries will be judged individually by a judging panel that will vote for the winner. The winner will have free access to Amazon Launchpad for one year and placements on the Amazon Launchpad storefront within the Amazon Marketplace, as well as the €100,000 grant prize. The awards will also recognise country-specific winners across the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands, with the local winners receiving €10,000. Startups applying for the award must be brand owners, registered in the European Union (the UK and Switzerland included), and have less than 250 employees with an annual turnover lower than €50 million.

The 2023 judging panel is made up of four industry experts: Andy Fishburn, Managing Director of Virgin StartUp; John Vincent, Co-founder of LEON; Simona Barbieri, Founder & Creative Director of Hubdot; and Alessandro Giudici, Director of the Executive MBA at Bayes Business School. They will select products based on their aesthetic, design, uniqueness and differentiation, and social, ecological and economic sustainability aspects will also be considered in the judging criteria.

This year’s awards follow the success of the 2022 awards where thousands of startups across Europe applied to participate in the challenge, including hundreds of UK startups. A panel of experts shortlisted 20 companies with innovative products and confirmed an overall winner.

In 2022, Petit Pli, which pioneered sustainable clothes that grow with children, were named the UK’s ‘Startup of the Year’ and won the grand prize. “Winning the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Award has really helped us grow our reach. As a result of the prize money, Petit Pli was able to drive up its order quantities to invest in more inventory to ensure more stock availability as well as begin to open up wholesale opportunities. We're even entering a new market, Japan!”, said Ryan Mario Yasin, Founder of Petit Pli.

“We are very excited to bring the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards to European entrepreneurs for the third time. Every year we are impressed by the talent within the startup industry, with incredible products and companies entered for consideration,” said Xavier Flamand, VP Amazon EU Seller Services. “Amazon Launchpad has supported over 2,700 emerging brands since it launched, and these awards demonstrate our continued commitment to supporting brands that are shaping the future and delighting our customers. This year we are also thrilled to be judging the awards in person and have an excellent panel who will be rewarding these emerging businesses.”

To learn more about the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards, visit:

Meet the 2023 Judging Panel:

Alessandro Giudici, Director of the Executive MBA, Bayes Business School

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Alessandro Giudici, Director of the Executive MBA, Bayes Business School

Alessandro Giudici, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Director of the Executive MBA at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) in London, UK, where he is a member of the research centres on ‘Digital Leadership’ and ‘Business Models and Technology’. Alessandro’s research investigates innovation/entrepreneurial ecosystems and digital platforms, and also tech for impact innovation with particular emphasis on emerging economies. At Bayes, Alessandro teaches applied strategy and digital transformation and leads the Executive MBA consulting week in Vietnam and the cross-MBA module on Technology for Good in Kenya. In 2020, Alessandro was included in Poets & Quants' prestigious list "Top 40 Under 40 Business School Professors", with the highest number of nominations on record.

Andy Fishburn, Managing Director, Virgin StartUp

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Andy Fishburn, Managing Director, Virgin StartUp

Andy is a founding member and Managing Director of Virgin StartUp – the not-for-profit organisation, funded by the Branson Family, that exists to help founders in the UK start and scale early-stage businesses. Prior to helping launch Virgin StartUp in 2013, Andy trained as a Chartered Accountant working at both PwC and Deloitte, specialising in Venture Capital and Private Equity. This experience brought a professional perspective to his passion for entrepreneurship, having had a number of ventures himself – from ‘Impact Artworks’, an online service turning photos into original hand-painted canvases, through to ‘My Club Mail’, an email service for football fans.

John Vincent, Co-founder, LEON

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John Vincent, Co-founder, LEON

John Vincent co-founded and ran the naturally fast food brand LEON which he sold in 2021. He co-wrote the UK government's School Food Plan, and was part of a team that led the turnaround of drinks business Whyte and Mackay. He formerly had a career in consulting and investment including four years at P&G and seven years at Bain and Company. He now works with Asti Wagner, building the social media tech platform Invyted which connects brands with social media influencers. Invyted seeks to help creatives and good brands share what they are up to and make people's lives more fun and interesting.

Simona Barbieri, Founder & Creative Director, HubDot

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Simona Barbieri, Founder & Creative Director, HubDot

Formerly of Goldman Sachs and then a jazz singer, Simona saw people around her as passionate individuals with multifaceted lives but whose stories and synergy would never meet because of the societal labels that defined them - a title, a job description, a CV. Starting in 2012 she began changing this status quo and launched HubDot, a global movement whose mission is to help people all over the world connect in a more human way. Today, HubDot is a social movement that encourages the art of connection through experiences and stories whose pioneering and innovative methodology helps and supports companies focused on improving their brand awareness, showcasing their brand values, and achieving their DEI objectives.