Bower Collective, the multi-award winning household cleaning product B-Corp brand, has partnered with fellow B-Corp, Bristol-based biomaterials innovator Kelpi to launch a world-first: a paper sachet containing a liquid product, made using a biobased coating derived from renewably sourced seaweed that matches fossil fuel plastic's performance.
The sample box contains three 5ml paper sachets of Bower Collective's bestselling Hand Wash scents - Orange Blossom & Mimosa, Pistachio & Vanilla, and the recently launched Wild Peach - which will be distributed to their customer base as samples for them to try prior to purchasing the full size.
The paper sachets are coated with Kelpi's proprietary biomaterial, which provides paper with the water barrier performance to hold a liquid formulation without any fossil fuel derived plastic lining.
The sachets were manufactured and filled by Guardpack, the UK's longest-established sachet and wet wipe producer, whose production-line expertise was instrumental in bringing this format to market. Running the coated paper on Guardpack's existing sachet-filling lines, with no equipment changes required, demonstrates that Kelpi's material is a genuine drop-in solution, able to run on standard converting and filling machinery rather than needing bespoke lines.
Sachets are one of the hardest single use packaging formats to solve as they are mostly made from fossil fuel based multi-laminate materials necessary to stop leaks, but which makes them hard to recycle. Kelpi's coated paper sachet can go straight into household paper recycling, and because it's made from a biomaterial rather than a fossil fuel-based plastic, it is designed to biodegrade safely should it end up in the natural environment.
"Our mission at Bower is to revolutionise the industry and eliminate single use plastic waste from people's homes. We are constantly innovating in pursuit of that mission, and this partnership with Kelpi is another fantastic step forward on our journey - delivering a world-first paper sachet for our natural liquid products". - Nick Torday, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Bower Collective.
"Liquids are the hardest packaging challenge in paper, which is exactly why this launch matters. Bower Collective have given us the perfect first home for proving our coating can hold a liquid formulation reliably, while staying genuinely recyclable and fossil fuel plastic-free," said Hugo Adams, CEO of Kelpi.
A perfect example of what game changing packaging innovation needs: two B-Corp brands coming together and showcasing that sampling can be done responsibly.
About Bower Collective
Bower Collective is a multi-award-winning sustainable home and personal care brand, founded in 2019 by Nick Torday and Marcus Hill to eliminate plastic waste from the home, delivering outstanding natural products through a closed-loop refill and reuse system. A certified B Corp. Sustainable living made Simple(tm). www.bowercollective.com
About Kelpi
From laboratories in Bristol, UK, Kelpi has achieved a scientific breakthrough - a unique biomaterial made from seaweed and vegetable oils that's the first in the world to match the performance of fossil-fuel plastics in packaging for food, drink, cosmetics and personal care. Kelpi has been selected by L'Oreal for their EUR100m L'Accelerator programme and is working with global businesses to meet their demands for renewably-sourced, recyclable, cost-effective coatings for paper, card and fibre packaging. www.kelpi.net | LinkedIn
About Guardpack
Founded in 1995 and based in Chelmsford, Essex, Guardpack is the UK's most established manufacturer of wet wipes and liquid-filled sachets, with more than 25 years of contract manufacturing experience. Kelpi and Guardpack have collaborated previously, trialling Kelpi's seaweed derived paper coating on Guardpack's production lines as part of the sector's move toward more sustainable sachet packaging - work that laid the groundwork for this launch. www.guardpack.co.uk