PA Consulting and Searo Labs have unveiled seaweed-based packaging items in hopes of cutting down on the global consumption of plastics, single-use packaging, and PFAS within the food, personal care, and home care sectors.
Reportedly, Searo’s materials are home compostable, heat sealable, optically clear, safe for food contact, and controllable in terms of moisture and texture. They are claimed to be subject to sustainability-minded cultivation practices, local processing, low-energy technology, and no chemical modifications.
Potential applications include film packaging for fresh food, dissolvable shampoo and detergent pods, and feminine care products, the company says.
Searo Labs expects to contribute its knowledge of material formulations and intellectual property to the collaboration, whereas PA Consulting aims to drive the scaling up and commercialization of the technology. Together, the companies aim to encourage brands and manufacturers worldwide to embrace seaweed-based materials for consumer products and packaging.
Searo Labs conducts its research and development at Cambridge Science Park and PA’s Global Innovation and Technology Centre in Cambridge, UK. The companies have jointly developed scalable manufacturing processes with existing machinery in a bid to meet global demand for sustainability-minded products and packaging.
“Helping brands to reach their sustainability goals sits at the heart of this collaboration,” said Steven Clarke, process engineer and industrial automation expert at PA Consulting. “The urgent need to reduce plastics and harmful chemicals like PFAS in our environment requires innovative solutions.
“This novel seaweed-based technology has the potential to make a big impact across a wide range of products that people use daily. Together we can industrialize and commercialize this solution, and develop first-to-market innovations.”
“Our partnership with PA is an opportunity for global brands to gain access to Searo’s cutting-edge material technology, relying on PA’s proven ability to deliver real-world solutions for industry,” added Francis Field, co-founder of Searo Labs. “Searo’s mission is to put an end to single-use plastic by commercializing seaweed-based natural alternatives, and projects as big as this cannot be addressed by one company alone. We are therefore delighted to join forces with PA to create plastic-free solutions that aim to revolutionize the FMCG industry.”
In a previous push to reduce plastic waste in personal care, beauty, food, and healthcare packaging, PA joined forces with PulPac to launch the Bottle Collective – an initiative seeking to introduce fibre-based Dry Molded Fiber bottles to the market. Logoplaste joined Diageo, Haleon, and Sanofi as a member of the Collective back in March.
Since then, PA Consulting has worked with Kemira to develop a renewable, polysaccharide-based barrier coating material for flexible food packaging. Produced through enzymatic polymerization, it aims to serve as a versatile, renewable, and recyclable solution in demanding end-use applications.
Most recently, Kelpi announced its intent to phase out single-use, fossil fuel packaging with over £4.3 million (€5,047,856) from a new funding round being dedicated to seaweed-based barrier coatings for food, drink, cosmetics, and personal care packaging made of paper and card.
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