Written by: Céline Tridon | The Good | 10.1.2024
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This material can replace polystyrene, thus promising to make the packaging industry more eco-friendly. The industrial world is welcoming the California-based company with open arms, as it now aims to expand in Europe, particularly in France. We spoke with Cruz Foam co-founder and CEO, John Felts.
What innovation does Cruz Foam offer?
John Felts: Cruz Foam was founded in 2017 with a mission to replace single-use plastic foams, particularly polystyrene, with a compostable alternative made from 70% recycled food industry waste. Specifically, Cruz Foam composts in 103 days or less! It took us about five years to come up with our current bio-foam and its innovative features like low density, insulation, and compressive strength.
It is currently used by industrial customers in the electronics, home appliances, consumer durables, food and beverage industries, etc. In the future, we plan to expand our range to serve the construction, automotive, and aerospace industries, among others.
What was the biggest challenge?
John Felts: Cruz Foam is currently capable of producing 4,200 square meters of foam per month at our facility in North Carolina and we will be expanding to new manufacturing sites in Europe, North America, and Asia over the coming year. So, a key aspect of our development has been ensuring that our production can adopt the same equipment, facilities, and employees as ‘conventional’ plastic foam manufacturers. This will enable us to scale up more sustainable production globally while keeping costs low, which is essential for mass adoption of the product by industry and greater sustainability in the packaging sector. Especially as using food industry waste helps to solve another critical environmental problem and ensure the continued availability of materials…
In France, you have just signed a strategic partnership with AMC Industrie, a foam-cutting specialist: what is its objective?
John Felts: We are very confident in our growth ambitions in Europe: Europe, particularly France and Italy, is moving very quickly to meet the need for more sustainable materials in the supply chain. We have already seen a lot of engagement in the food and beverage, wine and spirits, and luxury sectors. AMC Industrie is our first converter and packaging design partner in France: the partnership will allow us to consolidate our position in the luxury market, therefore, and other potential verticals. Moreover, in 2023, Cruz Foam joined the LVMH Maison des Startups acceleration program, which also allows us to expand our partnership opportunities, to provide circular materials that have the technical, aesthetic, sustainability, and scalability capabilities that the most prestigious brands in the world now demand. We can only see the dedication and commitment of French companies in the face of the global climate crisis.