A manufacturer of sustainable packaging backed by Diageo, the global spirits giant, will this week unveil a new round of funding to enable the delivery of a commercially scalable production line.
Sky News has learnt that Pulpex, which produced the first Johnnie Walker whisky bottle made entirely from paper-based products in 2021, will announce on Monday that it has secured financing from investors including CMPC, one of the world’s biggest pulp and paper companies.
City sources said the Series C fundraising comprised between £20m and £25m of additional investment.
Pulpex, which utilises sustainably sourced wood pulp, was formed in 2020 from a collaboration between Diageo and Pilot Lite, a venture management company.
They, alongside other sustainability impact investors, also contributed to the funding round.
The aim of the new funding is to facilitate a commercial-scale production line capable of producing up to 12.5m paper bottles annually at a facility in Cambridgeshire.
Pulpex also has plans to establish additional capacity in unspecified locations globally through deals with licensed manufacturing partners from the middle of next year.
By 2028, it wants to produce 2bn bottles annually for prominent consumer goods manufacturers.
“The scaling of our Pulpex paper bottle technology marks another inflection point in the step change required to reduce reliance on existing packaging formats, which are used out of necessity rather than suitability, by providing a viable alternative that is available globally and has all of the recycling, sustainability and environmental benefits that fibre packaging naturally brings,” Scott Winston, Pulpex chief executive, said.
“Our technology will enable and accelerate the availability of sustainable fibre packaging for our major brand customers and their packaging suppliers, in turn enabling them to meet consumer demand for more sustainable packaging and helping them to meet their carbon reduction goals for 2030.”
Lazard, the investment bank, advised Pulpex on the funding round.