Meet Jade Luxton, Founder of Sterineedle, one of the 22 ventures participating in the Sprout Accelerator Spring26 Cohort.
We caught up with Jade for a quick-fire five questions in five minutes to learn more about Sterineedle and what she hopes to achieve from her time in the Sprout Accelerator.
1. Tell us about Sterineedle. What are you building?
Sterineedle is a needle sterilising holster designed to make cleaning vaccination needles between animals quick and easy.
The idea came from seeing the gap between what farmers know they should be doing and what’s practical when vaccinating hundreds of animals. We’re making needle hygiene faster, easier and safer.
2. What problem are you working to solve?
We’re tackling a simple but important problem: needle hygiene during animal vaccination.
When farmers are vaccinating hundreds of animals, changing or sterilising needles between animals can be time-consuming and impractical. As a result, needles are often reused, increasing the risk of infection, abscesses and disease spread.
In New Zealand, around 85% of farmers reportedly don’t sterilise needles between animals, creating a significant animal health and economic issue.
Sterineedle makes needle sterilisation quick, portable and practical for real farm conditions.
3. How does your solution work?
Sterineedle is a portable needle-sterilising holster that clips onto a farmer’s belt or pocket and is designed to clean vaccination needles between animals.
Instead of stopping to find a sterilising solution or changing needles, farmers can simply dock the needle into Sterineedle, sterilise it, and get straight back to vaccinating.
It makes better needle hygiene quick, simple and practical for the realities of working on a farm.
4. What is the next important milestone for your venture?
Our next major milestone is finalising a suitable sterilising agent and moving Sterineedle into manufacturing.
We’re working to validate an effective solution that is practical and safe for use across livestock, while finalising the product design and manufacturing process to get Sterineedle ready for market.
5. What are you hoping to get out of your time with Sprout?
I’m hoping to use my time with Sprout to get Sterineedle ready for the next stage of its journey. I’d love support with finalising our sterilising agent, manufacturing, and getting the product ready for market, as well as help understanding what comes next.
As a first-time founder, I want to learn how to successfully run and operate the company after launch. I’m also keen to learn from experienced people, build connections and gain the confidence and skills to take Sterineedle from a prototype into a company.
Find out more: sterineedle.com
Instagram: @sterineedle
LinkedIn: Sterineedle