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The global sustainable packaging market is projected to reach USD 448.53 billion by 2030. The growth is driven by rising environmental regulations, shifting consumer preferences, and corporate sustainability targets. This article features 10 sustainable packaging startups that offer solutions such as biopolymers, molded fiber, jute-based alternatives, and mycelium leather.
These companies are addressing the packaging waste crisis with compostable, recyclable, and reusable designs that align with circular economy goals and reduce dependency on fossil-based plastics.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights Emerging Sustainable Packaging Startups to Watch
Through the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 7M+ startups, 20K+ technology trends plus 150M+ patents, news articles & market reports, we identified 1600+ sustainable packaging startups.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the emerging sustainable packaging startups you should watch in 2025, as well as the geo-distribution of 1600+ startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research.
According to our data, we observe high startup activity in Western Europe and India, followed by the United States. The top 5 Startup Hubs for sustainable packaging are London, Bangalore, New York City, Mumbai, and Los Angeles.
Discover Emerging Sustainable Packaging Startups to Watch in 2025
We hand-picked startups to showcase in this report by filtering for their technology, founding year, location, funding, and other metrics. These emerging sustainable packaging solutions range from bioplastic and mycelium leather to recycled jute fiber and functional packaging.
- TURN GREEN – Biopolymer Packaging
- Vapac Bio-plastics – Bioplastic Packaging
- Mushee – Recycled Jute Fiber Bags
- FreedaPrint – Custom Sustainable Packaging
- Bio-Pak – Compostable Food Packaging
- PakItGreen – Sustainable Packaging Coatings
- GreenHero Solutions – Molded Fiber Packaging
- MATE4MEAT – Sustainable Antimicrobial Packaging
- Ecofungi – Mycelium Leather
- Cocopac – Sustainable Functional Packaging
1. TURN GREEN
- Founding Year: 2024
- Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Use For: Biopolymer Packaging
TURN GREEN develops biodegradable, compostable, and water-soluble biopolymers to create packaging and single-use items. The startup’s biopolymers are suitable for various manufacturing applications and replace standard plastic polymers. These biopolymers act as a drop-in solution that requires no machine modifications.
TURN GREEN’s products are available in 3 categories. The BioFlex product degrades safely in landfills, which makes it suitable for a wide range of applications from cutlery to clothes.
CompoFlex supports home compostable and industrial compostable solutions depending on the application. Further, AquaFlex is water-soluble, biodegradable, compostable, and marine safe.
2. Vapac Bio-plastics
- Founding Year: 2022
- Location: Chikkamagaluru, India
- Use For: Bioplastic Packaging
Vapac Bio-plastics creates eco-friendly alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics. The startup converts coffee husks into biodegradable packaging materials.
Vapac’s Ecosack – IP is a transparent double-bottom sealed bioplastic product that is useful for integral packaging use cases. It is capable of decomposing from 180 to 720 days. Ecosack – G is a compostable double bottom sealed product that is suitable for grocery and bakery packaging.
The startup’s products align with sustainable practices for environmentally conscious businesses. The solution reduces the environmental impact of traditional plastics through the use of natural, renewable resources.
3. Mushee
- Founding Year: 2024
- Location: Brisbane, Australia
- Use For: Recycled Jute Fiber Bags
Mushee converts industrial jute waste into recycled fiber packaging solutions that replace plastic protective inserts for shipping containers and luxury product packaging. The startup upcycles discarded jute fibers from coffee sack production into durable, home-compostable Nest Packaging.
Mushee’s proprietary binding process eliminates synthetic adhesives by utilizing biobased resins. This makes the final product completely biobased, home compostable, and sustainable.
4. FreedaPrint
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: New York, USA
- Use For: Custom Sustainable Packaging
FreedaPrint offers a B2B marketplace that provides businesses with sustainable packaging through a digital platform combining AI-driven design tools and supplier networks. The startup’s PrintGenie system allows food retailers and consumer goods brands to create customized, eco-friendly packaging.
It allows clients to modify modular templates, select materials, and preview 3D renderings in real time. This simplifies the transition from design to production.
FreedaPrint’s custom sustainable packaging avoids the use of single-use plastic, coating, or films. The solution thus acts as an affordable alternative to plastic and other non-compostable materials while allowing high levels of customization to reflect the brand.
5. Bio-Pak
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Cape Town, South Africa
- Use For: Compostable Food Packaging
Bio-Pak produces sustainable food packaging utilizing plant-based sources. The startup produces both cups and takeaway packaging in various designs and material configurations. Bio-Pak’s process ensures minimal waste during manufacturing and uses elevated temperatures to enable watertight integrity.
Bio Pouch is the startup’s high-barrier paper that is not only plastic-free and compostable but also fully recyclable in the normal paper stream. This feature makes it suitable for direct food contact as it has aroma and grease barriers.
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6. PakItGreen
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Michigan, USA
- Use For: Sustainable Packaging Coatings
PakItGreen develops barrier coatings for packaging material and provides resistance to oil, grease, moisture, and water, along with heat-sealing capabilities. The startup’s coatings also enhance recyclability and repulpability while eliminating the need for single-use plastics.
The Maxcoat series of PakItGreen’s barrier coatings is free of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which makes it food compliant. This makes the solution suitable for multiple applications like trays, pizza boxes, bakery items, and pet food packaging.
The coating ensures that packaged contents remain fresh and protected from production to consumption.
7. GreenHero Solutions
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Newmarket, Canada
- Use For: Molded Fiber Packaging
GreenHero Solutions manufactures molded fiber packaging products from recycled paper pulp and agricultural waste fibers. The startup transforms these sustainable materials through a water-based manufacturing process involving pulping, molding, drying, and precision trimming. It creates customized protective packaging that maintains structural integrity during shipping while reducing environmental impact.
GreenHero offers the thick wall trays, corner guards, and pots for heavy-duty use. Transfer molded products include packaging and horticultural pots for non-fragile, heavy items. Thermoformed items are thin-walled cups, bowls, plates, and food packaging.
Further, processed products feature custom containers and consumer goods with added treatments or finishes.
8. MATE4MEAT
- Founding Year: 2024
- Location: Naples, Italy
- Use For: Sustainable Antimicrobial Packaging
MATE4MEAT develops biodegradable antimicrobial packaging solutions that extend the shelf life of meat products while reducing environmental impact. The startup incorporates specialized antimicrobial compounds to create barriers that actively inhibit spoilage microorganisms while maintaining food safety standards.
MATE4MEAT’s solution thus tackles the problem of food spoilage. This reduces food waste and its associated economic and environmental costs. The use of biodegradable materials further adds value by mitigating the environmental impact of plastic waste and supporting sustainable practices.
9. Ecofungi
- Founding Year: 2024
- Location: Kamnik, Slovenia
- Use For: Mycelium Leather
Ecofungi produces mycelium leather that serves as an alternative to premium leather for the luxury industries. The startup’s material is a high-performance alternative to animal-based and synthetic leather.
The mycelium leather is animal-free and sustainably grown, which reduces the carbon footprint of the product and avoids ethical concerns.
Ecofungi offers tailor-made textures and shapes for creative applications. The material is also heat and moisture-resistant, making it suitable for diverse product categories.
10. Cocopac
- Founding Year: 2024
- Location: London, UK
- Use For: Sustainable Functional Packaging
Cocopac manufactures biodegradable drinking straws from fallen and dried coconut palm leaves. The startup processes naturally shed coconut leaves through a chemical-free manufacturing process. The method preserves the material’s inherent anti-fungal and hydrophobic properties while creating multi-layered straws with high structural integrity.
Cocopac’s straws maintain their form for hours in various beverages without disintegrating or affecting drink flavor, unlike paper alternatives. It also decomposes completely within 30 days when discarded, enriching the soil as it breaks down.
Discover All Emerging Packaging Startups
The packaging startups showcased in this report are only a small sample of all startups we identified through our data-driven startup scouting approach. Download our free Packaging Innovation Report for a broad overview of the industry or get in touch for quick & exhaustive research on the latest technologies & emerging solutions that will impact your company in 2025!
