Vegware makes eco disposable packaging from renewable or recycled materials, which can be composted with food waste after use.
Products include cups, soup and deli containers and sandwich boxes. Eco friendly materials used include palm leaf, PLA and recycled sugar cane fibre.
Huge opportunity
The alliance comes at the time of a US-wide movement to mandate composting of food scraps.
“The market has been very receptive and we’ve been growing very quickly,” Joe Frankel, founder and MD, Vegware, told FoodProductionDaily.com
“The US market is a very exciting one and a huge opportunity. We’ve been working there for some time, but this alliance is really going to help us expand in a big way.
“Berkley Square is a very well respected, solid company, with a good reach in the US.”
Vegware, which is based in Edinburgh with distribution in the US, Europe, South Africa and Australia, will be able to grow its presence in the US, thanks to the deal, while Berkley Square will offer its customers access to Vegware products alongside its existing range.
Substantial growth
Berkley Square is a division of Berk Enterprises, which has an ‘Environ’ eco friendly line of cutlery and tableware. The partnership will bring the Vegware line to over 100 distributors and thousands of food service establishments. Berk foresees a 15% increase in overall sales initially, with substantial growth expected in the coming years.
With a number of states mandating composting and banning foam containers, the company expects a 40-50% increase in the number of brokers and distributors who carry compostable packaging, said Robert Berk, president, Berk Enterprises.
He added the alliance puts Berk in the ‘strongest possible position’ to provide sustainable compostable alternatives.