Pulpex

Pulpex was formed in 2020 as a joint venture between Diageo, a multinational alcoholic beverage producer (Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Guinness, etc.), and venture management firm Pilot Lite.

As of June 2023, the company is working on building a commercial-scale production line capable of producing up to 12.5 million paper bottles annually at a facility in Cambridgeshire. It aims to produce two billion bottles annually for prominent consumer goods manufacturers by 2028.

Key customers and partnerships

The company had formed the “Pulpex consortium,” consisting of leading FMCG brands in non-competing categories to introduce Pulpex’s patented paper-based packaging among their products. As of April 2022, Pulpex’s partner brands included Unilever, Pepsico, GSK Consumer Healthcare, and Castrol, with a goal of supplying 750 million paper bottles per year to global brands by 2025 once production commences in 2022.

Pulpex also joined the 4evergreen Alliance in April 2022, a consortium of companies promoting sustainable fiber-based packaging. In July 2020, via Diageo, Pulpex released the world’s first paper-based bottle for spirits the following year for Johnnie Walker Whiskey. Pulpex has also partnered with Unilever (in  2021) and Kraft Heinz (in May 2022 ) to jointly develop paper-based laundry detergent bottles and paper-based ketchup bottles respectively. Unilever’s “OMO” laundry brand will debut the packaging in Brazil in early 2022 with further plans to roll out the packaging in Europe and beyond including its haircare products. . ( May 2022 ). 

Funding and Financials

In June 2023, the company announced securing between GBP 20 million–GBP 25 million (~USD 25 million–USD 32 million) in Series C funding from investors including CMPC, Diageo, and Pilot Lite.