Loliware’s kelp-based plastic alternatives snag $6M seed round from eco-conscious investors
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Loliware's kelp-based plastic alternatives snag $6M seed round from eco-conscious investors
The last few years have seen many cities ban plastic bags, plastic straws and other common forms of waste, giving environmentally conscious alternatives a huge boost - among them Loliware, purveyor of fine disposable goods created from kelp. Huge demand and smart sourcing has attracted a big first funding round.
I covered Loliware early on when it was one of the first companies to be invested in by the Ocean Solutions Accelerator, a program started in 2017 by the nonprofit Sustainable Ocean Alliance. Founder Chelsea "Sea" Briganti told me about the new funding on the SOA's strange yet quite successful "Accelerator at Sea" program late last year.
In the Accelerator over the Sea
The company makes straws primarily, with other products planned, out of kelp matter. Kelp, if you're not familiar, is a common type of aquatic algae (also called seaweed) that can grow quite large and is known for its robustness. It also grows in vast, vast quantities in many coastal locations, creating "kelp forests" that sustain entire ecosystems. Intelligent stewardship of these fast-growing kelp stocks could make them a significantly better source than corn or paper, which are currently used to create most biodegradable straws.
A proprietary process turns the kelp into straws that feel plastic-like but degrade simply (and not in your hot drink - it can stand considerably more exposure than corn and paper-based straws). Naturally the taste, desirable in some circumstances but not when drinking a seltzer, is also removed.
It took a lot of R&D and fine-tuning, Briganti told me:
"None of this has ever been done before. We led all development from material technology to ne