Transforming the food packaging ecosystem with EIT Food
The global plastic crisis is no longer just an environmental issue; it is a mounting threat to human health, ecosystems, and the resilience of our food systems.
In this episode of The Cereal Entrepreneur, host Anna Wood, Editor, Startups Magazine, speaks with Françoise de Valera Rose, Co-Founder, Pack2Earth, Elizabeth Lee, Co-Founder, Carbon Cell, and Juliet Bray, Regional Accelerator Programme Manager, EIT Food. Together, they explore how innovation, regulation, and entrepreneurship are converging to transform the future of packaging.
Every year, more than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced worldwide, with around 40% used for packaging. Yet only 9% of plastic waste is recycled; most is landfilled, incinerated, or leaks into the environment. The guests highlight that while public debate has often focused on marine litter and visible pollution, the deeper crisis lies in the long-term accumulation of plastic and its by-products in our bodies, soils, and food chains.
Francoise explains that fossil-based plastic in contact with food contaminates humans in two main ways: through microplastics and nanoplastics we ingest and inhale, and through toxic additives that leach into food. With an estimated 16,000 additives used in plastics and at least 80 highly hazardous toxins found in human bodies, the links to endocrine disruption, reduced fertility, obesity, diabetes, and dementia are increasingly well documented. Elizabeth adds that this human health narrative has, in some markets, become more compelling to investors than climate messaging alone.
Plastic pollution also undermines ecosystems. Microplastics can reduce photosynthesis in plants and algae, disrupt ocean water columns and degrade soils. On farms, Francoise notes how mulching films are sometimes ploughed into soil, harming long-term fertility. Even as recycling is promoted as a solution, the guests stress its structural limits: many plastic formats – multi-layer films, heavily printed materials, mixed components like toothbrushes or razors – are effectively non-recyclable with current infrastructure.
Against this backdrop, EU regulations such as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and single-use plastics directives are driving major change. Juliet and Francoise describe how PPWR both promotes recycled plastics and simultaneously restricts PFAS and bisphenols in food-contact materials – creating a tension that makes heavy reliance on recycled fossil plastics untenable. This is opening space for compostable alternatives, although regulatory uncertainty and ‘grey areas’ still slow corporate decision-making.
The EIT Food Accelerator Network plays a crucial role in helping startups navigate this landscape. EIT FAN runs a six‑month, pan-European accelerator focused on different themes, including sustainable packaging. Juliet emphasises its human-centric design: founders gain mentorship, corporate connections, pilot opportunities, and the chance to share the emotional and strategic burden of entrepreneurship within a community. Corporate partners such as Unilever and Cargill help define use cases and, in some cases, become pilot customers. Startups can also access up to €50,000 in technology validation funding.
Both Pack2Earth and Carbon Cell have benefited directly. Pack2Earth develops high-barrier, home-compostable materials that can package dry, semi-liquid, and liquid products with 12+ month shelf life, while remaining low CO₂ and free from microplastics and PFAS. Its technology aims to replace over 50% of supermarket plastic packaging, as well as applications in agriculture such as mulching films and pheromone traps. Carbon Cell creates low to negative carbon foams from biochar, suitable for thermal protection in cold chains, insulation, and even compostable plant pots, mirroring biochar’s long history as a soil amendment.
Both founders point to two main challenges: raising capital, especially for manufacturing-intensive, low-margin sectors, and winning trust from early customers amid past ‘greenwashing’ and confusion between industrial and home compostability. EIT FAN has helped by opening doors to large corporates, sharpening their commercial strategy, and providing funding for material development.
Looking ahead, the guests anticipate a stronger shift towards home-compostable materials, reuse, and refill models, more localised supply chains, and growing pressure on global brands to address plastic waste in developing countries lacking recycling infrastructure. They argue that humanity thrived for millennia without fossil plastics and that a rapid transition is both necessary and possible – if regulation, investment, and innovation align.
You can access the full podcast below:
