Finnish start-up Fiberdom reports that it has secured €3.5 million in funding to develop and scale its patented technology which creates a ‘100% plastic-free’ material, seeking to replace non-essential plastics with scalable, circular solutions.
The company says its technology transforms market pulp and paperboard into a 100% plastic-free, recyclable and home-compostable material. The funding was raised from Heino Group, Nordic Foodtech VC and Holdix Oy, alongside a €0.6M grant from Business Finland.
Fiberdom says it has successfully commercialized single-use cutlery that complies with the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive, currently available through Finnish retailers and B2B channels. It adds that the product aims to tackle the challenges of existing fibre-based solutions such as limited formability and strength in demanding applications, often requiring additives that can compromise recyclability.
“Replacing single-use plastics in food packaging and in serving and eating on-the-go food is one of the key pain points in the food system, both for the industry and for the consumers. Fiberdom’s technology addresses functionality, scalability, sustainability, and recyclability. We believe the cutlery is a great starting point for much broader innovation in plastic-free products,” says Pekka Siivonen-Uotila, partner at Nordic Foodtech VC.
In related news, Matrix Pack entered a strategic partnership with PulPac last year to produce cutlery made from Dry Molded Fiber, hoped to serve as a lower-cost, environmentally-conscious replacement for single-use plastic and wooden solutions. PulPac and PA Consulting will lead the cutlery’s development, while Matrix Pack will co-develop the industrialization of the post-processing solution.
In January, Corn Next officially launched CornNext-17, its bio-based material designed to replace traditional plastics and support global sustainability initiatives. The material apparently retains its natural polysaccharide structure, enabling rapid decomposition within 30 days in natural environments while maintaining the mechanical properties necessary for diverse applications.
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