W-CYCLE
A compostable, non-coated food packaging solution from a bio-based material called SupraPulp™, which can be used for hot, wet and greasy foods.
Website: w-cycle.com
Founded date: 2017
Business model: B2B
Country HQ: Israel
Applications: Compostable packaging for food
JOURNEY TO FOUNDING
The founder of the company, Joseph Siani, was working in the bioplastic industry for many years. Some time ago, he was challenged by the Israeli government to find a solution for school meals, so that they could prepare the meals and pack them in trays, and then pack all the trays in boxes and send them to the schools. They were looking for trays that would last and would be able to tolerate heat, humidity and the oiliness of food. This was quite challenging, but Joseph managed to come up with a three-section tray in order to solve this problem. After realising this was quite an interesting product for global markets, he founded the company in 2017 and got the first investors onboard.
THE INNOVATION
What properties and functionalities make your innovation unique in the landscape of compostable packaging for food?
The main problem with compostable packaging for food is that it is made of fibres and therefore—when it comes in contact with water or oil—it often becomes soft and starts leaking. With our formula, the packaging can stand 100% humidity and it can hold water, soup or oil, enabling high-quality performance in extreme temperature and high-moisture environments. You can put it in the freezer at minus 40 degrees, and you can put it in the oven up to 270 degrees. That allows quite many applications that were not possible in the past, like to move them directly from freezer to oven or microwave, replacing a lot of different trays that currently exist in the market. And, of course, it is non-toxic and very safe for the people, and compostable, so it doesn’t leave any trace in the environment.
In some cases, we can replace two types of packaging with one package only. For instance, sometimes food products have one aluminium foil and, on top of that, another package and a top seal, because it needs to go to the freezer and then to the oven. We can replace both trays with one. Our technology, called SupraPulp™, is a patented, field-tested, liquid and oil proof replacement for plastic, which is ideal for catering solutions, transportation, frozen food manufacturers and restaurants. It is made from 100% renewable sugarcane fibres, called bagasse, the dry, pulpy fibrous matter that remains after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice. While standard pulp products cannot sustain liquids or oils, SupraPulp™ containers are oil- and water-resistant and avoid any absorption or leakage.
What is the composting time of your solution?
We have tested it, and we are fully certified for industrial composting. I believe the composting time is around 90 days, but it isn’t a standard. We are certified for safe compostable, which means you can bury it in the ground and grow from it, and it’s non-toxic. We have also applied for a certification for home compostable.
APPLICATIONS
You can apply our solution in any industry or segment where people are worried about humidity. For now, we are really focusing on food, because there is a huge need in the market. If you imagine all the different applications, you can think of wet products like strawberries, peas or something which is parked in a tray. Our trays are breathable, which means they even prolong the shelf life of produce. You can use it for frozen/ready meals, fresh meat, and much more. Think also about all of the frozen pastries and everything that goes in the freezer. If you open your freezer, you’ll see many plastic trays there. There is a vast array of applications.
VALUE FOR CIRCULAR TRANSITION
We are using waste materials - the sugarcane pulp, known as bagasse. There is plenty of it, and today it is often burned or thrown way, causing danger and pollution to the environment. In principle, pulp from any feedstock can be used as a basis for our products. Sugarcane bagasse, reed, wood, banana leaves - any fiber can form the shape of the product and provide its mechanical properties. By using the waste of a renewable resource, we’re doubling the positive impact. By being microwave, oven and freezer sage, it makes for a great replacement for rigid plastic.
Every tray that we sell is reducing the amount of plastic trays, or styrofoam that basically never breaks down. 20 billion plastic food trays are used every year. 95% of plastic packaging material annually ends up in dumps or the natural environment, taking more than 400 years to decompose in our oceans and up to 1,000 years in landfills. Our main goal is to replace as many of those trays as possible with something that is good for the environment. And good for people as well, because it's not toxic. Even the best plastics emit some toxins—especially if they're heated into the food—and aluminium trays can release heavy metals. Our solution brings us one step closer to a plastic-free world by offering a no-compromise food packaging solution that contributes to the protection of the environment and the health of the people. We also want to work on high-barrier films of packaging that prevent moisture, oxygen and light from entering and exiting product packaging, enabling extended shelf-life.
FUTURE PLANS
We are looking for distributors in different countries and we are currently starting to build those relationships. We are definitely ready to serve customers already, and I have received so many emails of interest following our PR campaign and have started working with food companies directly. In the next months we will be sending samples and quotes to distributors. I trust that in six months we’ll be in a very different place than we are today. We have our first few customers and others are just starting. Our target customers also include airlines, restaurants and resorts - a variety of markets that we can tackle.
VISION FOR DECADE OF ACTION
I believe that the public and policy-makers are not going to continue to accept packaging being so harmful, which is pretty much all of the single-use packaging. There will be a high customer demand to replace them and higher taxes. I am constantly talking to plastic distributors and plastic manufacturers who tell me that their customers are asking for something else. Therefore I am convinced that there will be a major shift in terms of what materials we use for different applications and packaging. Plastic is not good for food, and solutions like ours will be preferred for the health of the people and the environment. I can see this whole market transforming completely over the next ten years.
January 2020
A conversation with Nataly Turgeman, VP Business Development
W-Cycle is currently looking for distributors to make their solution the new standard for environmentally and human safe compostable packaging for food. If you are a distributor and interested to hear more, get in touch at: info@w-cycle.com.