The modern world is simultaneously facing two major challenges. On the one hand, packaging is essential for ensuring product safety and storage; on the other hand, dependence on single-use plastic packaging is becoming an increasingly heavy burden on the environment. To overcome this contradiction, Kelpi, a company working on innovative packaging, is attempting to replace plastic with seaweed-based biomaterials and produces a special biodegradable coating designed for paper and cardboard packaging. By adding a barrier layer, paper becomes as durable as traditional plastic, maximally protects the product, and is resistant to the effects of liquids, grease, oxygen, and other external factors.
According to Kelpi’s approach, environmental protection should not come at the expense of product quality. The company has developed a special barrier coating that ensures protection from moisture and extends the shelf life of the product. For this reason, Kelpi considers its innovation not as a niche eco-product, but as a real industrial solution with significant potential to establish itself across wide markets such as cosmetics, food, and beverages.
Kelpi’s choice of raw material is strategic. Seaweed is a unique resource, as its cultivation does not require fertilizers, agricultural land, or freshwater. At the same time, seaweed-based packaging presents a biodegradable option after use and is safe for marine animals. It is also important that Kelpi links its activities to B Corp principles and promotes an approach in which commercial success and environmental responsibility are treated as a single, shared goal.
From Problematic Packaging to Sustainable Production
The company collaborates with the British manufacturer Guardpack on the development of sustainable sachet-type packaging (small packaging for liquids and loose products). This direction is important because multi-layer sachet packaging is one of the most problematic forms of waste. Their small size and wide distribution, together with their incompatibility with existing recycling infrastructure, create a critical challenge. In addition, the polymer layers with which such packaging is coated are toxic to the environment and harmful to human health.
As a result of practical testing during production, Kelpi’s partner company confirmed that the material demonstrated a high level of sealing performance and favorable processing properties, which shows that the packaging is ideally suited to real production cycles. For the industry, replacing multi-layer plastic packaging is a serious economic and technological barrier. Kelpi is changing this reality and proving that, through the integration of its innovative coating, standard paper and cardboard packaging can fully meet the industry’s strict functional requirements.
Cross-Sector Collaboration
Kelpi’s successful cooperation with other sectors also demonstrates the scale of its activities. Thanks to its unique technology, the company is also working on alternatives beyond packaging:
Replacement of PET containers: In supermarkets, cardboard coated with Kelpi’s special protective layer is used instead of traditional plastic for packaging sliced fruits, vegetables, and meat products. The innovative coating protects the packaging from dampness and moisture, completely preventing the cardboard from softening or becoming damaged by product liquids.
Paper bottles for liquid products: Kelpi collaborates with global leaders in the beverage industry, such as Diageo, to make the production of paper bottles commercially accessible. Since standard paper cannot hold liquids, Kelpi’s material is applied to the inner surface of the bottle, ensuring the full sealing of the packaging.
Cosmetic tubes: In cooperation with L’Oréal, the company is creating plastic alternatives for cosmetics. Since creams, serums, and lotions are characterized by a high content of water and active ingredients, placing them in standard biodegradable packaging has until now represented a serious technological challenge.
Fast-food packaging and cups: This category includes cardboard containers, coffee cups, and wrapping paper. Kelpi’s material makes the packaging resistant to grease, hot liquids, and sauces. Standardly, such cardboard products are coated on the inside with a thin layer of synthetic polymer, which makes their recycling practically impossible. Kelpi’s innovation fully solves this environmental problem.
These initiatives are not limited to laboratory testing alone. They are being practically implemented in industries where packaging quality is crucial for ensuring product suitability, flexible logistics, and a positive consumer experience.
Kelpi’s recent achievements also reflect the high level of market interest in its technologies. In January 2026, the company was selected for L’Oréal’s sustainable innovation programme, L’Accelerator. Notably, out of nearly 1,000 applications submitted from 101 countries, only 13 startups and small enterprises were selected for the programme. The programme, with an investment volume of 100 million euros, is carried out in cooperation with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and aims to support scalable environmental solutions. Kelpi’s inclusion in this programme confirms that its technology is regarded as one of the main alternatives for next-generation packaging, with significant potential for large-scale implementation in the global market.
Innovation Aligned with Industry Needs
In addition to its environmental importance, the initiative also has economic and systemic dimensions. Replacing plastic is often a widely supported approach at the level of ideas; however, in industrial practice, the introduction of alternative materials is only possible if they remain competitive, are compatible with existing production processes, and do not disrupt supply chains. Kelpi’s approach is tailored precisely to this reality. The company works with global brands and major packaging suppliers to adapt its biomaterial to the specific requirements of each product. This means that the innovation is presented not as a universal, abstract solution, but as a cooperation-based model in which the material is refined through adaptation to industry challenges.
From the consumer’s perspective, Kelpi’s initiative is particularly interesting because it ensures sustainability at an everyday, though seemingly invisible, level. Although the barrier layer of packaging is usually invisible to the consumer, it is precisely these technical characteristics that determine product safety, reliability, and, most importantly, sustainability. Kelpi shows that the packaging of the future is not merely a visual solution, but a point of intersection between a systemic approach, environmental protection, rational resource management, and changes in consumer behaviour.
