NotPla

Based in the UK, Notpla (previously known as Skipping Rocks Lab) develops seaweed-based membrane Ooho, which acts as a packaging material for liquids. The company claims its packaging materials are 100% biodegradable, edible, and compostable at home within four to six weeks. The material’s use cases include creating thin films and coating for cardboard takeaway boxes and sachets for condiments.  It was also the first and only material as of November 2023 to have been recognised as being plastic-free under the European ‘Single-use plastics’ directive.

Notpla has collaborated with companies to commercialize its Ooho product. This includes Japanese soft drinks manufacturer Lucozade to trial its drink-filled Ooho product in 2018, sampling more than 42,000 units; online food order and delivery service platform Just Eat to test a sauce sachet across ten of its restaurant partners in 2018; and Unilever’s Hellman in 2019. Just Eat and Notpla have strengthened their partnership since 2018, collaborating with 65 of Just Eat’s partners to try its edible membrane for use as a sauce sachet in 2019 and trialing Notpla’s compostable seaweed-based food boxes in food delivery packaging in 2020. By April 2021, Notpla had supplied Just Eat with 46,000 sauce sachets. 

Notpla’s latest funding round was in December 2021, raising GBP 15 million (approximately USD 20 million) in a Series A funding round. The fresh funds were to be utilized to advance its sustainable packaging solution by introducing new product lines (seaweed paper and  transparent flexible film) expanding manufacturing capacity for its Ohoo product.  In December 2022 , the company was awarded GBP 1 million at the Earthshot Climate Prize.