Revolutionary packaging firm given growth boost

A BATH company developing compostable food packaging from seaweed is among the South West tech firms selected for prominent growth programmes.

Industry experts Tech Nation has identified 15 “promising” firms from across the region which it said had the potential to scale and strengthen the national sector.

Between them the businesses, which range from start-ups to laterstage enterprises, have raised hundreds of millions in investment and created more than 1,000 jobs.

Two of the businesses have joined Tech Nation’s ‘Future Fifty’ programme – an influential network of the UK’s leading later-stage tech companies.

Tech Nation said six of the companies had female founders, while three belonged to the South West’s burgeoning Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub.

Alumni of Tech Nation growth schemes include travel search engine Skyscanner and Monzo bank, as well as three UK firms to be valued at more than $10bn – fintechs Revolut and Wise, and online luxury fashion platform Farfetch.

In collaboration with the University of Bath, Kelpi is to develop compostable packaging using biomaterial derived from seaweed, in a bid to reduce the use of single-use plastics in the food industry.

The company – a spinout from the University of Bath – has received private and public investment to scale up its work which it says is both marine-safe and carbon neutral.

Neil Morris, founder and chief executive of Kelpi, said: “Addressing climate change has to be an overriding imperative for business.

“Kelpi’s low-carbon bioplastics are a vital part of eliminating fossil fuelplastic packaging and ensuring the oil stays where it belongs – in the ground.”