TIPA seeks partnerships for compostable plastic packaging
The packaging can be ‘thrown away like an orange peel’.
The Israel-headquartered company already has already partnered four packaging manufacturers and five food brands across the EU and US since sales launch at the end of 2015.
Pilots are ongoing with various potential customers, some of which are multi-national brands, Nissenbaum said. Tipa is also in the last stages of forming new packaging with its tech with one new partner set to be announced in September, Nissenbaum told FoodNavigator.
“We are looking to expand our business with more partnerships and deals. We look for food or apparel brands that are sustainability leaders,” Nissenbaum said.
Currently, Tipa does not grant exclusivity over use of its packaging, she added, noting there are no discussions ongoing with any bigger players looking to buy the company at present.
Intellectual property includes seven patents surrounding the technology, Nissenbaum added.
“We have mainly two sales channels, we sale directly to food or other brands, or we work with agents that work directly with packaging manufacturers,” she said.
The tech
The packaging is based on biodegradable polymers (partially bio-based) and is 100% compostable, so can be disposed of with organic waste. Once the package ends life in the compost system it will become fertiliser within up to six months.
Tipa’s offering includes packaging solutions for dry and fresh foods including granola bars, potato chips bags, fresh produce, zip lock bags and vitamins.
The range includes co-extruded high-transparent films for fresh produce and non-transparent resealable plastic bags and stand-up pouches, BakeryandSnacks previously reported. Products have the same mechanical properties as most ordinary plastics with the same level of functionality.
Sustainable packaging market
Tipa focuses on making flexible packaging mainly for the food industry, a market worth €80.3bn ($91bn) with no real sustainable solutions, Nissenbaum said.
“The main reason for this focus is because the majority of flexible packaging cannot be recycled. Therefore, the majority of those packages end life in landfills and stay there for hundreds of years,” she told us.
There are currently very few options in the compostable packaging space, Nissenbaum said, though added rising interest in sustainability means the number of players trying to make and use this sort of wrapping will grow.
“The demand for sustainable packaging grows dramatically. We see more and more countries that adopt new regulatory laws in respect to plastic packaging,” she said.
“We see companies seek for solutions and consumers that demand sustainable solutions. We all understand that something has to change - we cannot continue littering by using plastic as we do today,”
