London-based Notpla, a sustainable packaging startup, announced that it has raised £10M (approx €11.7M) in its Series A round of funding. The round was led by Bangkok-based Horizons Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investors including Astanor Ventures, Lupa Systems, and Torch Capital.
Notpla – a play on the term ‘Not Plastic’, is on a mission to make packaging disappear by providing a sustainable alternative to plastic packaging using seaweed and plants.
According to the UN Environment Programme, only 9 per cent of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled and only 12 per cent has been incinerated. The remaining 79 per cent has accumulated in landfills, dumps, or the natural environment. This is where Notpla is looking to make a difference.
Wayne Cheng, portfolio curator at Horizons Ventures, says, “Conscious of the urgency to act on single-use plastic pollution, we’ve been impressed by the innovative solutions offered by this team of ambitious entrepreneurs. We believe Notpla is revolutionising the packaging industry with seaweed as a raw material.”
“Nature knows best”
Founded in 2014 by two Imperial College London and Royal College of Art alumni, Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and Pierre-Yves Paslier, Notpla uses seaweed to replace single-use plastic, one of the leading causes of environmental pollution across the globe.
According to the company, seaweed is one of the planet’s most abundant sources of biomass (growing at a rate up to 1 metre per day). Its production does not compete with food crops, requires no fertiliser or fresh water to produce, and actively sequesters carbon dioxide.
In line with the new EU Single-Use Plastic Directive, which aims to ban synthetic materials such as PLA, PHA and other bioplastics, Notpla’s products easily biodegrade in just 4-6 weeks without the need for industrial composting or special conditions.
Paslier says, “At Notpla we believe that, ‘Nature knows best’, and we only use naturally occurring materials that have had millions of years to adapt with the rest of the environment. Our new films and seaweed paper are great examples of this principle and are the most sustainable solution in their categories.”
The company is known for its sustainable packaging solution “Ooho” – an edible and fully biodegradable packaging made of seaweed. To date, Oohos have replaced over 500,000 single-use plastic packaging at major international events such as the London Marathon with Lucozade and London Cocktail Week with Glenlivet.
In 2021, Notpla launched the first seaweed coating for cardboard packaging. Unlike regular boxes, Notpla boxes are biodegradable and recyclable. Successful trials of 30,000 boxes led to the commercial launch of the Notpla box with Just Eat Takeaway.com to hundreds of UK restaurants. The packaging will progressively expand to Just Eat’s 26 countries and onboard new customers in the foodservice industry.
According to Notpla, currently there are no other readily biodegradable, biobased, and flexible solutions on the market. Hence, these applications are in high demand from brands that are struggling to remove plastic from their product ranges. The company has completed successful lab trials and is now working on scaling up the process with several commercial partners.
Capital utilisation
This new round of funding will enable the London startup to grow its manufacturing capacity while developing new innovative solutions, which include a transparent flexible film and a seaweed paper.
Notpla’s flexible, biodegradable films are a packaging alternative for dry products that are currently in plastic sachets. So, items such as cleaning products like detergents or pre-portioned foods such as pasta, coffee, and drink flavourings can be packaged using Notpla’s films.
The capital will also support the development of Notpla’s seaweed fibre paper made from the by-products of the company’s industrial processes. This seaweed paper requires 30 per cent less wood pulp than conventional paper, lowering pressure on forests while reducing waste from the seaweed supply chain, making it a sustainable solution.
Pierre-Yves Paslier, co-CEO of Notpla, says, “We are delighted to accelerate the pace towards a zero single-use plastic future. This new round coupled with soon-to-be-announced commercial partnerships is the perfect opportunity to put seaweed on the map of packaging solutions. We’re excited to see traction in the food service industry and are looking forward to moving into the cosmetics and fashion markets very soon.”
The company is also collaborating with fashion and luxury brands to develop premium sustainable solutions for secondary packaging such as boxes, envelopes, or sleeves.
