Paptic

Finnish startup Paptic develops wood-based sustainable packaging material. The company develops an eponymous material that can be used as a replacement for fossil fuel-based flexible plastics. In 2019, the company introduced its first commercial product, a wood-fiber-based packaging material called “Tringa,” as an alternative to single-use plastic packaging. The packaging is used in shopping and ecommerce bags, flexible packaging for toys, electronics, hygiene products, and beauty packaging applications, such as wash bags, make-up bags, gift wrap, and box linings. In April 2021, the company introduced “Sterna,” a material possessing high-tear resistance and thickness due to its double layer structure, which is intended for mass production applications of carrier and gift bags, ecommerce mailers, and as a base material for labels and coating. The company claims it is compatible with flexo, offset, inkjet, silkscreen, and digital printing. Paptic also unveiled “Apus” in June 2021, intended as a base material that can be further converted into custom flexible packaging requirements, including barriers and functional coatings. It is heat-sealable, making it suitable for dry food applications.

As of March 2024, the company operates three production facilities in Europe. The company reported plans to open its first foam-based production facility in 2025, followed by its first site outside Europe by 2026, expanding to 10 production sites globally by 2030. In September 2023, the company reported that it aims to generate revenue of EUR 100 million (~USD 107 million) by 2026 from its renewable and recyclable packaging materials. The company also aims to deliver 1 million tons of Paptic cumulatively by 2030, and have under 1% market share of the global flexible packaging market.

Key customers and partnerships

In 2019, Finnish department store Sokos partnered to replace all its plastic bags with Paptic bags.

In 2020, Finnish retailer Stockmann partnered to use the company’s ecommerce mailers and bags at its department stores.

In 2020, Moomin introduced a reusable dust bag made of Paptic for mugs sold at its shops, and Finnish consumer goods brand Fazer launched packaging made from Paptic for sweets, making it the company’s first food-related application.

In 2021, H&M’s brand, COS, launched Paptic-based packaging for T-shirts, winemaker Jacob’s Creek unveiled a bottle bag made from Paptic and Decathlon Singapore adopted Paptic-based ecommerce mailers.

In 2022, German construction toy manufacturer Fischertechnik and Finnish bedding brand Familion adopted the company’s packaging.

In 2022, the company partnered with packaging and printing solution provider Mavaco to provide Finnish onion farm Puukin Tila with Paptic-based packaging for its produce.

Funding and financials

In January 2024, the company raised ~USD 4.9 million in seed funding to strengthen its presence in Europe and Asia and accelerate the industrial scale-up of Paptic's foam-based manufacturing technology.

In 2023, the company raised ~USD 38.4 million across multiple funding rounds to expand its product portfolio, establish manufacturing partnerships, and support global expansion.

In October 2022, the company was awarded a EUR 2.5 million (~USD 2.7 million) grant from the European Innovation Council to develop its product.

In September 2021, the company raised USD 2 million in venture funding from Japanese general trading company ITOCHU Corporation to support expanding the company’s geographical footprint.

In 2016, the company raised EUR 3 million (USD 3.5 million) in funding in the form of support from EU Horizon2020 SME instrument and private investment.