Melodea plastic free-packaging solutions that are good for the planet and very functional
Please introduce yourself and your startup Melodea to our readers! How did you get the idea of Melodea?
Melodea, Ltd. was originally founded as a spin-off project at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem by Dr. Shaul Lapidot, PhD, Melodea’s CEO, together with composites expert, the late Tord Gustafsson, and Prof. Oded Shoseyov, PhD, a renowned expert in nanomaterials and plant biotechnology who is on the Melodea advisory board.
Why did you decide to start with Melodea?
Since its inception, Melodea focused on the production of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC) as a bio-based raw material for various applications that would serve both the industry and the environment. Our CNC is made from pulp – the raw material used to produce paper.
We recognized the planet’s need for more sustainable development, and in the packaging industry,–the urgent need to find solutions for the plastic waste challenge. We already had in hand the strong bio-based material Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC) that we produce through a patent protected process. We believe that the solution for a sustainable packaging industry grows on trees – as the industrial forest is the best source for bio-based raw materials such as CNC. Therefore, we invested in the development of a unique formula that has high performance in high humidity conditions – MelOx. In order to offer our clients the entire solution for their sustainable packaging that has high performance while being recyclable, we also developed the Melodea VBcoat that offers protection from moisture transmission.
What is the vision behind Melodea?
Our mission is to provide the market with solutions that will improve performance, and serve as a sustainable alternative to the market.
Sustainability is not only an integral part of our goals, it is in every element of what we do – from our production and development process, to the products we sell and the way we operate.
We are committed to offer solutions that address environmental challenges – most pressing one being the plastic waste challenge, for both short and long term.
How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?
The plastic industry has been around for many years – plastic is considered a high performing non- expensive material. Melodea’s challenge was to find solutions that are economically affordable but maintain the same high-performance attributes. For that reason, we are using wood pulp as a resource since it is economically affordable and available in vast quantities being sourced from industrial forests. We have invested in extensive R&D efforts to get the best performance and enable our clients to use existing machinery that they already have for easy integration.
Who is your target audience?
Melodea’s target audience are packaging companies, converters and food/consumer goods companies that are looking for sustainable packaging solutions that require barrier performance to protect packed products from oxygen, water vapor and/or oil & grease transmission.
What is the USP of your startup?
Melodea is on a mission to provide plastic free-packaging solutions that are good for the planet and very functional. The advantage of Melodea’s solution is that we have the only barrier products on the market with a comprehensive combination:
highly performance for oxygen, water vapor and oil & grease
Affordable prices compare to some structures of plastic
Recyclable
Can resist high humidity conditions
While other companies offer packaging solutions with a few advantages, to our best knowledge, our products provide a “complete package”. In addition, our barrier coatings can be applied using standard industrial coatings lines.
Can you describe your typical workday ?
Whoever works in a start-up knows there is no such thing as a typical day.
Everything isdynamic, which makes it very interesting and challenging. In general dealing with fund raising, sales of existing products and developing next generation products, all with my highly skilled team.
Where do you see yourself and your startup Melodea in five years?
Our barrier coating products will be produced and distributed worldwide, reducing the global use of plastic products. In parallel, being a technological company we will continue to produce and commercialize next-generation products that include epoxy composites, electronics, cosmetics and others.
What 3 tips would you give to founders?
Recruit and invest in the best team possible. It all comes down to the people.
Have passion for what you do – a start-up is something you need to be passionate about and you have to find someone who gravitates toward the idea with the same passion or even more
Listen to your customers and identify their struggles
More information you will find here
Thank you Shaul Lapidot for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.
