UK materials innovator Xampla has raised $14 million in Series A funding to scale production of its bio-based alternatives to single-use plastics and expand internationally.
The financing round was led by Emerald Technology Ventures, BGF and Matterwave Ventures, with existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners and Horizons Ventures also participating. The Cambridge University spin-out has now secured a total of $17.6 million since its founding in 2018.
Xampla produces Morro, a range of plant-based, plastic-free and PFAS-free materials derived from protein feedstocks such as peas, potatoes, rapeseed and sunflower. The company said the funding will help it target the replacement of 10 billion units of single-use plastic packaging by 2030, across applications such as takeaway food boxes, coffee cups and sachets.
“This is a major vote of confidence for our revolutionary replacements for polluting plastics, and will see us expanding into Asia-Pacific, as well as growing in the UK and Europe,” said Alexandra French, CEO of Xampla.
The company is already collaborating with packaging suppliers including Huhtamaki, Transcend Packaging and Bunzl Catering Supplies. In Germany, Lieferando — the local arm of Just Eat Takeaway — has trialled takeaway food boxes using Morro coatings, after initial tests in the UK market.
Rowan Bird, an early-stage investor at BGF, described Xampla’s patented materials as “not only strong in performance, but also drop-in-ready for existing manufacturing lines.”
Matterwave Ventures partner Ines Kolmsee added: “They are tackling a major sustainability issue with smart technology that can be used in existing manufacturing equipment, making it both easy to adopt and capital-efficient. This isn’t an academic exercise. They have got their product out of the lab and into the market.”
Xampla’s portfolio includes edible and soluble films for food and homecare products, as well as microcapsules designed to replace plastic microencapsulates in personal care, fragrance and agricultural applications. Its Morro Coating, designed for food-contact safe barrier applications, maintains cardboard recyclability while resisting grease, oxygen and moisture.
The company positions itself as a beneficiary of tightening regulation in Europe and beyond, with its materials exempt from the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive.
