Just Eat Takeaway.com, a global leader in online food delivery, faced a significant challenge: the environmental impact of plastic takeaway packaging. With an estimated X million plastic boxes used annually in the UK takeaway industry alone, Just Eat sought an innovative solution to reduce plastic waste without compromising food quality or customer experience.

In their search for sustainable alternatives, Just Eat found us, Notpla and our expertise in seaweed-based materials. They approached us with a clear goal: to develop a viable replacement for plastic-lined takeaway containers.

Our team embarked on this research and development process. We experimented with various seaweed extracts refining our approach through multiple iterations that resulted in the world's first seaweed-lined takeaway box for the food delivery sector, for Just Eat Takeaway.com

We began with a small-scale trial involving three London restaurants, which prevented 3,600 plastic boxes from entering the waste stream. Encouraged by this success, we expanded to eleven restaurant partners across the UK, projecting to eliminate 30,000 plastic boxes.

Today, our collaboration spans eight countries across Europe, showcasing the scalability of our solution. A recent milestone saw over 300,000 of our seaweed-coated boxes replace traditional packaging at UEFA final games, demonstrating the potential for large-scale impact.

This project with Just Eat Takeaway.com illustrates the Futures Lab's approach to innovation: we start with a specific challenge, develop a tailored solution through rigorous testing and refinement, and then scale up for maximum impact. By combining Notpla's material science expertise with Just Eat's industry reach, we're not just replacing plastic boxes – we're reimagining the future of sustainable food packaging.

In the world of sports, every second counts. Athletes challenge their limits to achieve peak performance - but what if the very products designed to fuel these achievements were simultaneously harming the environment? This is the challenge that brought Decathlon and Notpla together.

Decathlon, the international sporting goods retailer, recognised a growing issue in their industry. The single-use plastic packaging of energy gels was not only contributing to environmental waste but also creating practising problems for athletes during training and competitions.

Enter Notpla’s Ooho technology. Our seaweed-based edible packaging offered a unique solution: a way to deliver energy supplements that could be consumed whole, leaving no waste behind. This innovation aligned perfectly with Decathlon’s needs, giving them a packaging solution that would reduce waste, improve athletes' experience, and maintain the integrity of energy supplements. Our teams worked closely, combining Decathlon’s deep understanding of athletes’ needs with Notpla’s expertise in sustainable materials.

Through iterative design and testing, we developed a version of Ooho explicitly tailored for sports nutrition. The result?

The home care industry has long grappled with a paradox: how to deliver effective cleaning products without contributing to environmental waste. MACK, a forward-thinking eco-refill cleaning product company, recognised this challenge and sought to us for a solution that would embody their commitment to sustainability.

The main issue was in the packaging of laundry and dishwasher pods. Traditionally, these products rely on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) - a material often misunderstood as eco-friendly, but in reality, a synthetic polymer contributing significantly to plastic pollution.

MACK approached our Futures Lab to develop a packaging solution that would dissolve completely, leaving no trace in the environment, being as nature-oriented as the product it wrapped. After months of research and experimentation, we developed Notpla Film - a flexible, water-soluble material derived entirely from plants to complete the mission while maintaining product integrity.