Pioneers of Plant-Based Packaging

Single-use plastic remains one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. But a new generation of companies is proving that packaging does not have to come at the planet's expense. This week, we spotlight Notpla -- a London-based scientific start-up at the forefront of the sustainable packaging movement.

Notpla

Innovation is at the heart of everything that Notpla designs. With a team of designers, chemists, engineers, and entrepreneurs, they have developed a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic. The result is a revolutionary material made from seaweed and plants that is not only biodegradable -- but also edible.

Ooho -- The Edible Sachet

Notpla's first product was Ooho, a round, spherical sachet made from brown seaweed that can hold food or drink. Acting as a flexible, biodegradable container, Ooho sachets have been used at running races to help make marathons plastic-free, providing runners with easy-to-use packets of water.

The sachets have also been filled with cold-pressed ginger juice and sold at Selfridges in London, and used by Just Eat to replace traditional ketchup sachets and pizza dipping sauce packets. It is a versatile format that is already proving its commercial viability across multiple food and beverage applications.

Beyond Sachets -- Takeaway Boxes

Notpla's packaging extends well beyond sachets. Their takeaway boxes are made from specially sourced paperboard with a coating derived from seaweed and plants. The result is packaging that is greaseproof, water-resistant, and naturally biodegradable in weeks -- solving the persistent problem of food-contaminated packaging that cannot be recycled through conventional systems.

The Future of Packaging

With future products in development, Notpla's goal is to systematically reduce single-use plastic packaging across industries. The company is developing sachets for non-food products such as screws, as well as packets for powders and dried goods. Their technology enables either water-soluble or insoluble design depending on the application -- making it adaptable to virtually any packaging need.

Designed to disappear, Notpla's products leave no trace. It is a vision of packaging that works with nature rather than against it -- and it is already becoming a reality.

Notpla represents a fundamental rethinking of what packaging can be. By harnessing the natural properties of seaweed -- one of the planet's most abundant and renewable resources -- they are building a future where the packaging around our food and products simply returns to the earth. No landfill, no ocean pollution, no trace.