Edible plastic takes a bite out of packaging waste

Loliware co-founder/co-CEO Chelsea Briganti introduces us to a new type of plastic, one that is made from biodegradable—and edible—materials. Although initially targeted for foodservice packaging, Lolliware offers a taste sensation for many types of foods and beverages.

Would you eat this plastic? If not you, maybe the microbes in your compost pile. Enthusiastic and persuasive, Briganti makes her case for Loliware, which can be eaten or degrades in soil within 60 days.

“We invented a new frontier at Loliware called ‘biodegredible.’ It sounds like biodegradable, but just replace the last bit of that word with ‘edible,’” Briganti explains. “We use six all-natural ingredients. The base is a seaweed gelatin that gives it its structure. We use all-natural sweeteners, organic ingredients and flavored-color derived from fruits and vegetables. So it’s a really high-quality product that consumers already love.”

Briganti spoke at the 2015 SustPack conference during the Innovative Packaging Flash Talks session. In an exclusive on-site video interview, Packaging Digest guest reporter Chandler Slavin, sustainability coordinator and marketing manager at custom thermoforming company Dordan Manufacturing, also got Briganti to tell us:

• The top takeaway she learned at the conference: “I’m really looking forward to this whole revolution around concentrates—so no longer delivering the weight of the water. …Companies like Replenish…what they’re doing is amazing and really inspiring.”

• The reason why she would recommend this conference to others: “I love this conference because it feels like you’re with friends and family. Most of the time you’re trying to convince people to care about sustainability. Here, you feel like people already care or they want to care. So you feel really great about sharing these new ideas to such an open-minded audience that wants to think about a sustainable future with us, with Loliware.”