Notpla raises £10m for its packaging made from seaweed

Sustainable packaging start-up Notpla has closed a £10 million Series A financing round, led by Horizons Ventures. 

Founded in 2014 by Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and Pierre-Yves Paslier, Notpla develops innovative packaging solutions. The company is well-known for its ‘Ooho’ solution – an edible and fully biodegradable packaging made from seaweed. 

Notpla’s products can be easily biodegraded in nature in 4-6 weeks without the need for industrial composting or special conditions. 

The funds will support further development of Notpla’s seaweed fibre paper, which requires 30% less wood pulp than traditional paper and is made from the byproduct of the company’s industrial process. 

The round also included participation from Astanor Ventures, Lupa Systems and Torch Capital.

Wayne Cheng, portfolio curator at Horizons Ventures, said: “We are excited to join Notpla’s journey to make packaging disappear. Conscious of the urgency to act on single-use plastic pollution, we’ve been impressed by the innovative solutions offered by this team of ambitious entrepreneurs. We believe Notpla is revolutionising the packaging industry with seaweed as a raw material.”

Pierre-Yves Paslier, Co-CEO of Notpla added: “We are delighted to accelerate the pace towards a zero single-use plastic future. This new round coupled with soon-to-be-announced commercial partnerships is the perfect opportunity to put seaweed on the map of packaging solutions. At Notpla we believe that ‘nature knows best,’ and we only use naturally occurring materials that have had millions of years to adapt with the rest of the environment.”

He continued: “Our new films and seaweed paper are great examples of this principle and are the most sustainable solution in their categories. We’re excited to see traction in the foodservice industry and are looking forward to moving into the cosmetics and fashion markets very soon.”