Tipa's Biodegradable Solutions 2024: Reduce Plastic Packaging
TIPA has developed revolutionary biodegradable packaging solutions for the food industry that degrade biologically in up to 180 days, as opposed to regular plastic packaging which takes dozens of years to decompose.
In this interview, Co-founder and CEO Daphna Nissenbaum shares her passion for sustainability and invites food corporations to try TIPA’s innovative packaging solutions.
What sparked the idea to start the company and how has it evolved so far?
The idea for TIPA sparked from an argument I had with one of my kids about the plastic bottles he would take to school. On some days he would return them to be reused, while other days he wouldn’t. I said to him “we have to think about what we do with our packages.”
At the time, there were so many discussions surrounding plastic packaging, and I realized that the world was going to need a package that wasn’t plastic-based and would break down by itself post-use. I challenged myself to work out a solution, thinking the idea must be somewhere right in front of me. The resulting vision was to develop a package that acts just like organic material, like an orange peel, that disappears by its own natural decomposition.
At the time, compostable materials were available, but not very advanced. Since then, we’ve created a range of fully compostable, flexible packaging solutions that can meet the packaging specs required by brands and retailers like shelf-life, packaging machinery, and health and safety requirements.
Our vision is for TIPA to work together with every player in the packaging supply chain to bring compostable solutions that can meet the most sophisticated requirements on the market.
In a nutshell, what’s your technology all about?
TIPA’s technology’s a combination of the way nature packages food and the way the global supply chain does. We’ve created a compostable solution with all the specifications required for high-performing, flexible packaging that’s organically recycled at its end-of-life.
Our films feature many of the same features that brands and customers have come to love in conventional plastic, such as versatility, printability, transparency, and protective qualities. After use, they return to the planet as a resource. TIPA packaging is all certified compostable and doesn’t require massive restructuring from the industry.
Who are your typical customers, and what kind of challenges do you solve for them?
In the food industry, we work with retailers, food brands, co-packers, growers, grocery-delivery services, and pretty much any company that packages food. We help them find the best compostable solutions for their products and packaging practices so that they can choose an authentically sustainable solution without changing their supply chain or product packaging.
How do you envision the future of sustainable packaging?
We’re seeing a rise in the adaptation of sustainable packaging. Shoppers are more educated than ever, and they’re demanding authentic solutions to plastic waste. Companies are challenged to implement real solutions for their packaging that don't have harmful effects on the environment and encourage circularity.
I think that in ten years from now, only packaging that’s adapted to the changing market will survive. We’re already seeing the market advance sustainable alternatives that address the end-of-life of packaging. In the future, I think each stream will adopt its own solution. Eventually, plastic will only be used in very limited segments where it can be re-used.
