While, the global flexible packaging market, worth over €200 billion annually, mostly relies on plastics, making up 70% of its materials, now many companies are shifting towards sustainable packaging to create a circular economy.
Funding to replace plastic packaging
Finnish startup Paptic aims to replace plastic in nearly half of these cases with renewable and recyclable materials. They recently secured €23 million in Series A funding from the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), Ecolab, and Itochu Fibre Ltd.
This investment will help Paptic expand its material range, increase global availability, serve customers better, and scale its foam-based manufacturing technology. It also supports Paptic’s goal to be carbon-neutral by 2030.
“We are very happy that our work and solutions to reduce the use of fossil-based materials in flexible packaging are recognised as sustainable and commercially viable alternatives for today and tomorrow. The new investments enable us to take the next step in our company’s journey to boost our growth to new markets“, said Tuomas Mustonen, CEO and co-founder of Paptic Ltd. “Our renewable and recyclable materials, with a unique touch and feel properties, are a drop-in solution to replace plastics in flexible packaging as they run efficiently on existing converting lines.”
Guillaume Gras, Investment Director at ECBF, commented, “The versatile applicability of recyclable Paptic materials provides an excellent basis to reduce the use of fossil-based materials in packaging. Our investment will provide Paptic with the resources to accelerate its international expansion, as well as to serve the growing demand for innovative sustainable packaging materials.”
The Finland-based company was founded in 2015 by Esa Torniainen, Karita Kinnunen-Raudaskoski, and Tuomas Mustonen and have gained recognition for their work in the toy industry, where they’ve replaced single-use plastic in pouches with Paptic material made from wood fibres. This fibre-based and recyclable material allows for the creation of a genuinely sustainable vegetable packaging solution. It encompasses all sustainability aspects, including the substrate, design, printing, and inks.
Fischertechnik, a company in the toy industry, has also embraced this sustainable approach by using Paptic material to replace plastic in the packaging of their bio-based construction set called “Animal Friends.”
