London startup partners with Hellmann's to test edible seaweed-based food packaging

A UK startup has created a plastic alternative for food packaging made from seaweed. The eco-friendly casing is biodegradable, edible and can be used for a wide variety of food condiments. London startup Notpla has set its sights on breaking the global plastic packaging domination with their new seaweed-based Ooho sachets.

The essential ingredient, seaweed, is farmed in northern France and is said to grow faster than paper or starch. It also does not compete for land and the need for freshwater. the Business Insider wrote.

Notpla co-founder Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez says just a single strain of seaweed the company uses can grow up to three feet a day and does not require the use of fertiliser to propagate.

The name Ooho, Gonzales proudly says, comes from the sound people make when they see the sachets for the first time.

Notpla COO Lise Honsinger said, "Seaweed is a fantastic base material due to its sustainability credentials and fast growth. By using a natural material as an input, it makes us a carbon recycler, rather than plastics which obviously come from non-renewable oil."

The seaweed is dried out and then ground into powder form prior to undergoing its patented process that transforms it into a clear substance which enables it to be moulded like plastic.

The Ooho plastic sachets will be available in a variety of sizes to suit a company's product needs and can hold up to 2 ounces.

As of now, Notpla has partnered with a British food delivery app, and is on a trial phase as packaging for Hellmann's ketchup, barbecue sauce as well as other condiments.

Unilever, Hellmann's parent company, said that over 90 percent of customers' feedback say the sachets are just as easy to use as the typical takeaway plastic packets and welcome more takeaway sauces in Ooho packaging.

The company has already developed Ooho packaging for beverages, which lets you bite off the corner and drink instead of pulling a tab or twisting a bottle cap.

As it is, whisky Oohos and water Oohos have found their way to the London Marathon where participants were able to get a first hand Ooho experience. A vending machine was also installed in a London gym last March that dispenses Oohos filled with Lucozade energy drink.