Yesterday, the Council of the European Union a regulation on packaging and packaging waste. The new rules will significantly reduce the generation of packaging waste by setting binding re-use targets, restricting certain types of single-use packaging and requiring economic operators to minimise the packaging used. This regulation aims to cover the full life cycle of packaging.
In line with these developments, LAM’ON, a Bulgarian startup on a mission to make the printing and packaging industries more eco-friendly, announced they secured a new strategic investment. Local venture capital fund Eleven Ventures contributed €350,000 to the round, while angel investor Grigoriy Ananiev, Managing Director at Citibank, also participated. The total investment of €500,000 aims to accelerate sales following over six years of R&D efforts.
LAM’ON expands their sustainable packaging solutions
Initially, the company aimed to create a compostable laminating film to replace the environmentally harmful plastic-based options widely used in the printing industry. Lamination is present across most industries, including food, apparel, and pharmaceuticals, but most laminated flexible packaging is not recyclable. To address the growing demand for sustainable packaging across industries, LAM’ON, co-founded by Angela Ivanova and Gergana Stancheva, expanded its offerings to include a biodegradable and compostable packaging film made from corn.
LAM’ON plans to expand its product line with new formulations under development while maintaining a strong focus on R&D. They also plan to enter international markets through licensing, distribution, and partnerships.
Learn more about LAM’ON’s growth plans in the sustainable packaging sector below.
The Recursive Presents: Bite-Sized Conversations. Our series of brief interviews is designed to provide insights into the CEE landscape in just 2 minutes.
🎙️ Which European markets are prioritized for expansion, and why?
🗨️ For the next 12 months our focus is Western and Northern Europe, as well as Italy.
🎙️ What challenges does LAM’ON anticipate in scaling operations across Europe? How will the funding help address these?
🗨️ The reason for this round is to support our go-to-market efforts and help us reach key clients during these first months on the market. Our main challenge is that we are a new company and proving we can deliver consistent quality and integrity without years of history is one of our biggest challenges.
Read more: Circular economy SMEs in Western Balkans and Turkey to access new ~€134 million financing
🎙️ Does LAM’ON aim to expand beyond Europe in the future? If so, what regions are being considered?
🗨️ Of course our ambitions don’t stop here, we do plan to expand to the States and Southeast Asia in 2026 onward.
🎙️ How many people are currently on your team? Have you been hiring or letting people go? Do you have any further staff changes planned?
🗨️ We are a team of 10 right now, planning to hire more experts in the production wing in the beginning of 2025.
🎙️ What metrics or benchmarks does LAM’ON use to measure its environmental impact?
🗨️ We have an extensive LCA (life cycle assessment) for each of our products that allows us to measure impact. Each ton of LAM’ON’s films in use is one less ton of petroleum based plastic needed.
🎙️ How does LAM’ON differentiate itself from competitors already established in the biodegradable and compostable plastics market?
🗨️ What makes us unique is how easy to use our films are and that we are able to tailor them to our customers’ needs. However, we are strong believers that there is more than enough room for all sustainable solutions on the market. There really aren’t enough of us.
🎙️ What steps is LAM’ON taking to educate customers and industry players about transitioning to compostable packaging?
🗨️ This is a long game that needs to involve everybody – on a regional, national and business level. We are doing our best to take part in events and lectures and keep our online presence active with as much valuable information as possible.
Earlier this year, LAM’ON launched two products from its packaging line: PACK’ON Classic and PACK’ON Shrink.
