A major injection of $14 million in private capital is set to accelerate UK materials innovation company Xampla’s mission to replace single-use plastics with alternatives made from plants. 

Lead investor Emerald Technology Ventures runs Europe’s first specialist, venture-backed investment fund targeting the full packaging lifecycle.  The fund aims to catalyze leaps in advanced materials that benefit the planet and earn significant returns.

Also leading the Series A round is BGF, one of the largest growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland, and Munich-based Matterwave Ventures, along with follow-on investment from existing investors including Amadeus Capital Partners and Horizons Ventures.

Over the next five years, the funding will see Xampla’s revolutionary Morro materials replace more than 10 billion units of the most polluting single-use plastic, including plastic linings found in takeaway boxes, coffee cups, and sachets. 

Global plastic production is estimated to rise to a billion tons annually, and with less than 10% of plastic ever produced being recycled, there are now 8 billion tons of plastics and microplastics in our global environment. Xampla’s Morro materials offer a world-first natural polymer alternative. Made from regenerative plant proteins, they are completely plastic-free, biodegradable, and home compostable.  

Through partnerships with big names such as 2M Group of Companies, Huhtamaki and Transcend Packaging, Xampla has already replaced polluting coatings on boxes used by food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway and Bunzl Catering Supplies. Unlike plastic, Morro Coating maintains the recyclability of cardboard without compromising on grease, oxygen, and moisture barrier properties.  

The company’s Morro films, being commercialized through global partnerships, are soluble, giving them the potential to replace polluting plastic PVA films in dishwasher tablets and laundry pods. They are also food-safe and can be used as edible replacements for packaging a wide range of single-serve products, from sweets to soups.

In addition, Xampla—a University of Cambridge spin-out—is working in partnership with leading FMCG brands and fragrance houses to deploy Morro™ materials in place of harmful plastic microencapsulates used to convey scents and active ingredients in homecare and beauty products. Made from abundant and natural plant protein feedstocks—including peas, rapeseed, and sunflower—the materials are completely PFAS- and plastic-free and exempt from the European Union’s Single-Use Plastic Directive (SUPD).

“This is a major vote of confidence for our revolutionary replacements for polluting plastics and will see us expanding into Asia Pacific as well as growing in the UK and Europe," said Xampla’s Chief Executive, Alexandra French. “We have proven to investors and to brands that Morro materials are the real deal in making plastic a material of the past.”

“Working with Xampla is part of our mission to turbocharge a revolution in innovative packaging," said Neil Cameron, lead in Emerald’s sustainable packaging investment fund. “This technology hits the sweet spot I search for: a big solution to a big problem that can reap big rewards. And with its current global traction, there is huge potential to scale even further. The global barrier coatings market alone is set to be worth over $30 billion by 2032, and that is just the beginning.”