In a multi-year commercial supply agreement with 2M Group of Companies, Transcend Packaging will help upscale Xampla’s plant-based Morro Coating by applying it to selected paperboard packaging for quick-service restaurants.
Said to be free of both plastic and PFAS, Xampla’s Morro materials are classified as a natural plant polymer and are therefore exempt from the Single Use Plastics Directive. They are set to help businesses align with regulatory frameworks and cut down on their plastic consumption in line with internal sustainability goals.
Furthermore, they are said to be fully biodegradable, home-compostable, and food-safe. Their compatibility with heat sealing and resistance to grease, water, and oxygen are well-suited to food packaging, Xampla claims.
In total, Morro materials are anticipated to replace up to 10,000 tonnes of single-use plastic and one million kilometers of plastic-coated paperboard by 2031.
Transcend Packaging plans to adopt Morro Coating as an ‘inexpensive’ and ‘high-strength’ grease barrier for packaging used at quick-service restaurants, which will be distributed across the UK.
The coating will be manufactured at scale at 2M Group’s facility in Milton Keynes, England, and supplied under its new business venture, Sustainable Packaging Technologies. Its work with Xampla and Transcend Packaging is set to reflect its initiatives to minimize environmental impact via advanced packaging solutions.
“This new partnership is part of our rapid scale-up of Morro Coating in the marketplace,” explained Xampla CEO Alexandra French. “By licensing our product through 2M Group of Companies in this way, we are accelerating the scale-up of our plastic-free materials and are positioned to exceed the growing global demand for natural polymer solutions.
“This exciting partnership with Transcend is the latest step on the journey that will see Morro materials replacing plastic in people’s everyday lives.”
Mottie Kessler OBE, chair and CEO of 2M Group of Companies, continued: “We are excited to be supporting Transcend Packaging, an organization that shares our commitment to innovation and fostering collaborative partnerships to deliver the next generation of sustainable packaging solutions.
“This agreement deal represents another milestone that demonstrates our capability for scaling up emerging new technologies, as well as our continued commitment to sustainability.”
“At Transcend Packaging, we always aim to deliver value for our customers through agile responses to emerging market trends and demands,” added Channing Nuss, director of Corporate Affairs. “Leveraging our deep industry knowledge and strategic partnerships, Transcend is adopting cutting-edge technologies such as Xampla’s Morro Coating to bring new innovations to market to help our clients achieve their sustainability goals.
“This innovative coating technology enables us to push boundaries and develop more impactful solutions for both our customers and the environment. Transcend Packaging is looking forward to showcasing what’s possible when innovation and agile thinking converge to bring a new range of packaging to the market.”
Xampla first partnered with 2M Group in November 2023, with its sights set on scaling up the production and distribution of its plant-based materials. The partners were subsequently awarded the Innovate UK Smart Grant for further scaling.
Since then, Xampla has raised US$7 million (€6,466,250) in funding to advance the production of Morro materials and expand the consumer brand into new markets.
In another multi-year supply deal, 2M Group and Xampla recently joined forces with Huhtamaki to apply Morro Coating to various takeaway boxes and contribute towards its transition into recyclable, compostable, and renewable packaging solutions.
Meanwhile, a strategic partnership between traceless and Mondi is also set to apply a compostable, plastic-free, plant-based coating to kraft paper. The solution aims to reduce the industry’s reliance on fossil fuels, tackle unnecessary packaging waste, and help reduce global plastic pollution.
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