Supporting Notpla to create a plastic-free future
A seaweed-based packaging solution for a more circular world
Notpla’s ambition is to eliminate plastic packaging for good
In the past seventy years, the world has produced a vast amount of plastic - now reaching 460 million tonnes each year.
Almost every piece ever made still exists today: sitting in landfills, polluting our environment, or floating in our oceans.
With global awareness of the plastic problem at a record high, we’re helping businesses move towards circular practices and sustainable alternatives.
The first UK-based winner of The Earthshot Prize, Notpla’s packaging products, made from seaweed, offer a circular alternative to the single-use plastic that wraps our food, drinks, cosmetics and other everyday items.
We’re proud to support Notpla’s growth and ambition.
Notpla’s nature-based solution began life in the ocean but that’s not where it will end up
London-based start-up Notpla is on a mission. It’s created a range of next generation packaging solutions made from sustainable materials, mainly seaweed and plants, to transform the packaging industry.
Some products are edible, some are compostable and some dissolve in water. All of them disappear back into nature without any harmful traces. Behind the solutions is a company committed to accelerating the transition to a more circular economy and a healthier planet.
Notpla’s co-founders and co-CEOs, Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, and Pierre Paslier, were looking for natural materials that can contain liquid as they invented an edible seaweed membrane.
“We called our first product Ooho, because it’s the sound people make when they see it for the first time,” says Rodrigo in our Green Room Podcast. “Now, a few years down the line, we’ve been able to do a lot of things with that original proof.
“For example, we used it at the London Marathon to deliver Lucozade, at Roland Garros for Tropicana and we’ve also used it to replace plastic ketchup sachets.”
Supporting Notpla’s mission and growth
Winning the Earthshot Prize in 2022 enabled Notpla to expand their team, upgrade their East London factory and invest in innovation, creating new plastic-alternative materials and products, including new durable film product, Notpla Film.
As members of the Earthshot Prize Global Alliance, a network of businesses supporting Earthshot winners and finalists, Deloitte is proud to work with Notpla in further developing their growth strategy.
“Notpla had some key questions, including where in the supply chain they should focus their efforts and how to build the wider capabilities and management systems they are going to need to scale their business,” says Deloitte’s UK circular economy lead, James Pennington.
With lots of strategic choices available, and against a backdrop of changing market trends and evolving supply and demand, our sustainability and climate specialists provided a 360-degree view of the industry, regulation and supply chain considerations.
At the heart of this has been a drive to help Notpla crystallise its growth plan. Developing this strategy included assessing partnership opportunities within their supply chain and creating a product strategy for Notpla Film.
“Supporting Notpla has been one of the best moments of my career at Deloitte,” says Benjamin Combes, climate strategy director at Deloitte.
“The Notpla team are truly trailblazing, inspiring and really fun to work with – together we looked at how Notpla can navigate a complex landscape and explored the relevant strategic choices for the next stage of their journey.”
The past year has seen Notpla tapping into the power of their partners and partnerships. For example, they’ve signed a new contract with food service giants, Levy UK & Ireland, part of the Compass Group. This will introduce around 75 million of their seaweed-based food packaging materials to over 50 legendary venues around the country including Twickenham Stadium, London’s O2 Arena and Premier League Football Stadiums.
Thinking creatively about the circular economy
Working with innovators is about sharing perspectives and exploring different business models and future scenarios – with the aim of accelerating the next stage of their journey.
“We’re innovators, but of course have certain blind-spots when it comes to how our materials can be best adopted across various industries,” says Notpla co-founder and co-CEO Pierre Paslier.
“It’s been incredibly useful to lean on Deloitte’s experienced team to navigate these and they helped us ‘think big’: accelerating our impact to the point we’re now expecting to replace over 100 million single-use plastic packaging items with Notpla each year by 2026.”
Since it was founded in 2014, Notpla’s solutions have saved over 10 million pieces of single-use plastic from entering the environment. It’s a figure that’s only moving in one direction.
Mass market potential
Notpla continues to harness the power of nature to expand their product range: building on the unparalleled material properties of regenerative seaweed that is abundantly available, grows quickly, and captures carbon.
For example, Notpla Film represents a great alternative to traditional cling film, currently used for a wide variety of products such as laundry and dishwater tablets, stock cubes or cosmetics.
“There is still a huge problem from single-use plastic,” says Rodrigo. “So there’s still a huge journey to go on – and that’s what’s exciting.” And while their science and products are impressive, it’s the start-up’s agile and creative approach to circular interventions that we think businesses can learn a lot from.
“So many businesses can – and should - think more creatively about transitioning to a circular economy,” says James.
“Understanding more about Notpla’s approach can be an inspiration to other clients in adjacent industries. That’s why we want to bring this experience to other clients who are working through their own challenges to reduce their material footprint and embed circular behaviours.”
“The Deloitte team have been amazing allies for us at Notpla, and the ideal partner as we scale up adoption of our plastic-free solutions across global markets.”
Pierre Paslier, Notpla Co-founder and Co-CEO
