They started by founding a sports nutrition company (Food Sourcing Specialists) and have ended up creating a new biocompostable material at room temperature that replaces plastic in the packaging of dry and semi-liquid products for periods of up to six months or more. The entrepreneurs behind this feat are Françoise de Valera and Glenn Du Pree.
In addition to being a loving couple, De Valera and Du Pree share a passion for trail running. “We see how many runners throw the containers of energy bars and energy gels on the ground, so when we set out to found our sports nutrition company we wanted to package the products with a material that, at room temperature and relatively quickly, in a matter of months, it will stop being a residue instead of remaining for hundreds of years, like plastic”, explains Françoise de Valera.
To the surprise of the co-founders, they could not find any material with these characteristics on the market and, at the end of 2017, they began to develop it themselves with the Itene technology center. For this they obtained a European aid of 1.9 million euros, which they supplemented with 800,000 euros from private capital and borrowed money. After a final investment of 2.5 million euros, thanks to obtaining more public aid, the entrepreneurs have managed to develop two biocompostable materials that are being tested by 24 clients, including Damm and Angulas Aguinaga.
The project for the new material has grown to such an extent that, in January 2022, De Valera and Du Pree separated it from Food Sourcing Specialists and created an exclusive startup for its commercialization, Pack2Earth, which is also based in Barcelona. The entrepreneurs trust that their containers will begin to circulate in the market during the first quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, they are one of the 20 startups selected to enter the Km Zero Venturing program.
