More than 10 billion units of single-use plastic! That’s what Xampla aims to replace over the next five years thanks to its range of plant-derived biodegradable materials.
Traded under the name Morro, the company’s range of fully biodegradable solutions is made from an array of plant proteins, including pea and potato. Leveraging patented technology, its portfolio includes natural and microcapsules, coatings, edible films, and soluble films designed for applications across the beauty, home care, nutrition, food, and beverage industries.
The new USD 14 million (about EUR 12 million) funding round is led by Emerald Technology Ventures, who runs the Europe’s first specialist investment fund targeting the full packaging lifecycle. It also includes BGF, one of the largest growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland, and Munich-based Matterwave Ventures, along with follow-on investment from existing investors including Amadeus Capital Partners and Horizons Ventures.
The new funding follows a USD 7 million round completed last year.
Sustainable packaging solutions
Xampla’s Morro materials offer a natural alternative to plastic polymers. They are completely plastic-free, biodegradable and home compostable.
Through partnerships with packaging big names such as 2M Group of Companies, Huhtamaki and Transcend Packaging, Xampla has already replaced polluting coatings on boxes used by food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway and by Bunzl Catering Supplies.
Unlike plastic, the Morro Coating solution maintains the recyclability of cardboard without compromising on grease, oxygen and moisture barrier properties. The company’s Morro films, being commercialized through global partnerships, are soluble, giving them the potential to replace plastic PVA films in dishwasher tablets and laundry pods. According to the company, they are also food-safe and can be used as edible replacements for packaging a wide range of single-serve products, from sweets to soups.
In the beauty sector, Xampla has partnered with British skincare brand Elemis to develop plastic-free biodegradable heat-sealable films that can replace single-use plastics used in skincare samples. Xampla also developped plant-based microcapsules that enable formulators to encapsulate a portion of fragrance within any given formula so that it breaks up upon use, releasing a powerful scent ’bloom’.
"This is a major vote of confidence for our revolutionary replacements for polluting plastics, and will see us expanding into Asia Pacific as well as growing in the UK and Europe. We have proven to investors and to brands that Morro materials are the real deal in making plastic a material of the past. Our ambition now is nothing less than to see our products – proudly bearing their Morro marque – become the world’s go-to plastic replacement," said Alexandra French, CEO, Xampla.
