Articles

Rethinking Materials is a premier global event that connects scalable solutions with commercial partners, including top CPG brands, investors, and materials producers.

On May 13-14, the summit returns to London for a fourth year, to showcase the breakthrough new materials and drop-in technologies helping to decarbonise supply chains, including innovations in renewable chemicals, bio-fabricated fibres, waste valorisation, carbon capture, AI and many more.

 Whether it’s transforming agricultural waste into durable materials, replacing synthetic dyes with plant-based colours, or creating edible plant-based cling film, the summit sets out to connect material innovation leaders with investors and end users scouting new sustainable solutions for consumer products and packaging. A key feature on the agenda, the daily Technology Showcases are dynamic, fast-paced sessions that showcase early to mid-stage start-ups, providing a powerful platform to present their cutting-edge technologies in front of the summit audience of industry leaders. Start-ups pitching on stage this year include:

• Earthodic (Australia) specialises in bio-based coatings for paper packaging, enhancing paper strength and water resistance while remaining recyclable and compostable.
• Seprify (Switzerland) natural cellulose-based white pigments and functional ingredients serve industries like food, cosmetics, and coatings.
• MacroCycle (USA) upcycles end-of-life plastics into virgin-grade PET and polyester resins using a proprietary zero-carbon process that reduces energy consumption by 80% compared to traditional methods.
• Sequinova (UK) creates plant-based, biodegradable sequins, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic embellishments.
• Woamy (Finland) has developed a mold-free, rapidly manufactured cellulose biofoam for protective packaging.
• Pomeco (Turkey) transforms pomegranate peel waste into high-quality, eco-friendly vegan leather applicable for the fashion, automotive, and furniture industries.
• Sparxell (UK) creates biodegradable and vegan shimmer colour pigments derived from plant-based cellulose, an alternative to traditional synthetic dyes for applications in cosmetics, fashion, packaging, and food.
• Solum (USA) turns agricultural byproducts into renewable alternatives to petrochemicals, enhancing durability and meeting performance standards for the world’s first regenerative outsole.
• KUORI (Switzerland) offers bio-based, biodegradable and recyclable elastic materials designed for seamless integration into conventional manufacturing processes.
• Tastee Tape (USA) offers an edible, plant-based cling film which is free from harmful chemicals, microplastics, and parabens as well as being home compostable.
• KIUD (Estonia) transforms textile waste into durable packaging that outperforms cardboard with 82% lower CO₂ footprint and is reusable up to 20 times.
• Smart Resilin (Israel) creates sustainable, high-performance elastic materials, harnessing the power of nature, and driving industries towards the next generation of eco-friendly innovations.
• Genecis is a climate biotech company turning organic waste into sustainable, biodegradable materials, offering a circular economy solution for products’ beginning and end of life.
• Paptic has developed a fiber-based and recyclable material to replace plastics and other conventional materials in packaging.
• Vytal is dedicated to eliminating single-use packaging through its advanced reusable solutions which leverage cutting-edge software and data analytics.

The Technology Showcase start-ups have been carefully curated and shortlisted by the summit’s advisory panel of material scientists and industry experts. These are the solutions deemed most viable for application into existing supply chains, and with growth potential. A special thanks to the selection jury:

• Efrat Friedland, Founder, MATERIALSCOUT, Germany
• Jen Vanderhoven, Chief Operating Officer, BBIA, UK
• Jamie Rowles, Partner, REGENERATION.VC, UK
• Giorgia Scetta, Materials Science & Accelerator Partner Manager, MASSCHALLENGE SWITZERLAND, Switzerland
• Justin Guest, Partner, ARCHIPELAGO VENTURES, UK
• Neil Cameron, Partner, EMERALD TECHNOLOGY VENTURES, Canada
• Amy Tsang, Head of Europe, THE MILLS FABRICA, UK
• Sophie Thomas, Founding Partner and CTO, ETSAW VENTURES, UK

Summit delegates can meet the start-ups face-to-face and learn about their innovations in the Start-Up Exhibition. Exhibiting start-ups include Pomeco, Solum, Seprify and KUORI and Cellexcel:

• Cellexcel (UK) technology enhances water resistance of cellulose based materials without the use of PFAS, PU or other pollutant chemicals.

 More mid-stage companies feature across the summit’s busy exhibition and main stage programme, including Materiom, Greyparrot, Polytag, NBCo, Rubi Labs, Holiferm, and Matereal. Additional to the main stage discussions, accelerator Generation Food Rural Partners Fund (GFRP) will host a breakout session on Day 1 exploring fast-tracking commercialisation and revenue generation with start-ups from their cohort pitching:

• TerraSafe (USA) leverages university research and patented technologies to mimic plastic’s performance using natural, renewable material and design solutions.
• BioBond (USA) is developing bio-based adhesive solutions to replace the use of synthetic materials in both pressure sensitive and epoxy-based applications.
• Dissolves (USA) creates innovative, edible, dissolvable packaging solutions to combat single-use plastics and microplastic pollution.

The Kraft Heinz Innovation Challenge reaches its climax at the summit. Three finalists will be announced in April, following a careful selection process by its innovation team. 80+ global entrants answered the call for sustainable solutions for flexible packaging that will deliver the functional requirements of food production, extended shelf life, and oxygen or moisture barrier performance. All three finalists will pitch live on stage, taking questions from the Kraft Heinz team, before they announce the winner. Bringing together 350+ decision makers across 35 countries, the Rethinking Materials Summit exists to spearhead innovation and connect materials leaders with global brands, investors, technology developers, manufacturers and producers scaling innovative materials for circular systems. Focused on upstream innovation—material selection and designing out waste – the programme, exhibition and impactful networking offer actionable insights to future-proof businesses across packaging, textiles, durable goods, and hygiene sectors. Delegate registration is open. Book before Thursday April 3 to save £300 per delegate with the Early Bird offer. Special start-up rates are also available. Full programme details, speakers, start-up profiles and details of the Hilton London Bankside venue are available at www.rethinkingmaterials.com Enquiries: [email protected] or call +44 1273 789989.