Noriware recently closed a €4.3M seed round in a bid to scale its seaweed-based transparent film. The company says that its product, Norifresh, has no chemical modifications, adhesives or coatings, can be directly heat-sealed onto cardboard, and is suitable for use on existing production lines. In this interview with Jessica Farda, Noriware’s co-founder and CEO, we learn more about the key functionalities of the solution, its origin story, and its potential to scale.
I think it’d be good to start with you giving us a brief history of Noriware as a company. What’s the story, and how did a company based in a landlocked country become a manufacturer of seaweed-based materials?
Noriware began in 2021 with a simple observation. While travelling in Mexico, our founder came across large amounts of seaweed washed up on a beach and wondered whether this abundant natural resource could be turned into something useful. That question led us to the natural polymers found in seaweed cell walls, which can be extracted and engineered into high-performance materials.
We saw the opportunity to develop a packaging material with the functionality of plastic, but without relying on fossil resources or creating persistent waste. Since then, we’ve focused on translating that idea into industrial reality, developing seaweed-based materials that run on existing packaging equipment and help solve some of the packaging industry’s biggest challenges.
Could you tell us more about Norifresh, its key functionalities, and its most obvious applications?
The Norifresh is a printable, transparent seaweed-based film made from 100% natural materials. It’s chemically unmodified, placing it outside the definition of plastic as per EU packaging regulations. It’s heat-sealable both to itself as well as to fibre/cardboard, enabling the design of completely plastic-free packaging applications.
It has an extremely strong oxygen barrier, even better than conventional polymers, while being more permeable to water vapor. These are tuned for its main intended application- fresh produce packaging- which faces an EU-wide plastic ban starting 2030 due to the PPWR. In a recent instore pilot in Switzerland, these properties led to an extension in the shelf-life of packaged blueberries and a 50% decline in write-offs.
It’s both compostable and biodegradable, and our film sealed onto cardboard punnets even obtained the highest CEPI score for paper recyclability. While it’s actively aimed for fresh produce packaging, it’s usable in almost any application that requires a transparent and heat-sealable flexible film.
Where does Noriware source its seaweed from, and how do you ensure that it is harvested in a sustainable manner?
While collecting wild seaweed is possible, at our scale this would be a logistical nightmare. We source our seaweed compounds directly from a mix of European resellers and Asian direct producers. In nearly all instances the actual seaweed is harvested by small-scale farmers and sold to middlemen who perform the role of accumulating the large volumes required by seaweed extractors who then process them into the compounds we use. We have direct visibility into the value chain through our suppliers who are very cooperative.
Your website states that Norifresh has “lower carbon emissions”. Lower than what? How exactly does the carbon footprint of Noriware compare with conventional alternatives?
Norifresh has a lower CO2 footprint than the alternatives that are currently used in this application – fossil-based polymers such as PET for instance. We are currently performing a full LCA with data from our own suppliers and processes and will get it externally reviewed later this year before quoting an exact number but based on previous calculations, and using data available in research we should be in the ballpark of 70-89% lower than PET.
What are some examples of real-life applications/collaborations for Noriware at scale? Are there any major brand collabs we should be aware of?
In July, blueberries packed with our film were actually available for purchase in stores in grocery stores in Switzerland. The berries were packed by our partner Tobi Seeobst AG, a major fruit producer in Switzerland. The retailer Volg, a household name in Switzerland was also the first one to bring us to market. While we can’t disclose anything as yet, our plans in the next few months will see fruits packed in the Norifresh in more grocery stores across Europe.
There are plenty of seaweed-based flexible products out there – what makes Noriware’s offering different?
What’s truly unique about the Norifresh is the fact it’s designed for one specific application where it outperforms everything else. Firstly, the fact it’s not a plastic, while offering plastic-like convenience. To use the Norifresh all you need to do is replace the existing plastic roll on your topseal line and continue packing at the same speed without any disruptions.
From an end-of-life perspective, it’s home compostable while also being safe to enter paper/cardboard recycling meaning minimal hassle for the end consumer as well guaranteed regulatory compliance.
And for its intended use- which is fruit and vegetable packaging, it leverages the natural properties of seaweed polymers to provide barrier properties that are actually capable of extending the product shelf-life. That shelf-life extension simultaneously reduces food waste and inventory write-offs for retailers, both of which are the biggest issues in the fresh produce category.
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