Kelpi lands £4.3M in funding to bring seaweed packaging solutions to market 

05 Jun 2024 --- UK-based seaweed packaging company Kelpi has secured £4.35 million (US$5.5 million) in investment to take its biomaterial technology to market. The funding will expand operations, grow the company’s team and run scale-up pilots.

The funds will also be used to gain regulatory approval for proprietary coatings for paper and card as well as continue a commercial roll-out which has already seen the company win R&D contracts with major brands like L’Oréal, Diageo and Waitrose and tropical fresh fruit supplier Blue Skies.

Kelpi says its biomaterial is unique in matching or exceeding the performance of plastic, in particular with a strong water barrier and resistance to greasy contents or acidic foods. Kelpi uses only renewable feedstocks, sourcing seaweed farmed sustainably.

This is important as seaweed sequesters huge amounts of carbon dioxide as it grows, deacidifying the ocean and providing a rich environment for fish, the company explains.

“This landmark investment enables Kelpi to scale up our pioneering work and take to market our world-leading packaging material that is already being chosen by clients,” says Kelpi CEO Neil Morris.

“Kelpi can now play a key role in ending our dependence on fossil fuels to create single-use packaging and so eliminating a major source of plastic pollution. We’re delighted to receive this backing from investors like Blackfinch and Green Angel Ventures to allow us to accelerate our pioneering work.”

Seaweed funding
Kelpi’s equity funding round was led by Blackfinch Ventures, with funding from Green Angel Ventures, Kadmos Capital, QantX, Evenlode Foundation and the South West Investment Fund as well as follow-on investment from Bristol Private Equity Club, One Planet Capital and private angel investors. Having initially sought £3 million (US$3.8 million) in equity investment, raising £4.35 million (US$5.5 million) constitutes a significant success for Kelpi.

Dr. Reuben Wilcock, head of ventures at Blackfinch, says: “Kelpi stood out to us as a strong combination of world-leading scientific innovation with extensive entrepreneurial experience. Their technology has immense commercial potential and we’re excited to be backing the company to scale up and go to market.”

Cam Ross, CEO of Green Angel Ventures, says: “We’ve been consistently impressed with Kelpi’s team and technology, and their pioneering approach to developing biopolymers from renewable feedstocks like seaweed. At scale, the Kelpi approach will play a vital role in reducing fossil fuel dependency, addressing climate change and impacting on plastic pollution.”

Edited by Louis Gore-Langton

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