Luxe Pack Paris 2023: ReStalk announces French biorefinery with farming co-op agrowaste partnerships

07 Jun 2023 --- The Luxe Pack trade show opens today in Paris, France, showcasing some of the industry’s latest premium and luxury design developments. ReStalk, a US-based company specializing in using agricultural waste for fiber products, is announcing the launch of a biorefinery in France in partnership with multiple local farming co-ops.

The commercial-scale facility will specifically serve the luxury packaging market starting in 2024.

Lukas Hildebrand, co-founder and chief strategy officer at ReStalk, tells PackagingInsights the biorefinery will use crop cereal residues through multi-year off-take agreements. The company now has access to over one million hectares of wheat straw in one of Europe's most dense agricultural regions.

“ReStalk’s mission is to create regionalized models that valorize existing agricultural products – effectively removing complex and carbon-intensive global supply chains. We feel our approach compliments local communities while providing a more circular approach to natural resource management,” he says.

The company expects to make over €100 million (US$107 million) in turnover by 2030.

PackagingInsights will be discussing the circular economy and replacing fossil-based materials with renewable materials in an upcoming webinar on Innova Market Insights’ Top Trends 2023 with industry experts on June 28.

ReStalk is showcasing its “Fielded” line of pulp and wet molded fiber-based packaging.Leading luxury packaging ahead
Hildebrand says the problem is that while the luxury packaging segment has “historically led by example,” most traditional products use linear materials that are either not replaced or take years to reproduce.

“In our purview, this approach can be heavily extractive, costly, wasteful, chemically intensive and often at the expense of regional ecosystems.”

At Luxe Pack, ReStalk is showcasing its “Fielded” line of pulp and wet molded fiber packaging for various applications, centrally PET and PP replacements. The company is also working with regional paper mills to bring to market new grades of label and card stock offerings for the European market.

“Packaging must reflect the intentions we put into the world. Today, we see the luxury market embracing emerging technologies and setting circular trends for the future of all markets,” Hildebrand says.

“There is no single ‘silver bullet’ technology that can solely answer the call for a more circular and carbon-positive future. ReStalk is building bridges for science and enterprise to collaborate via long-term innovation that will be beneficial for people, the planet and industry.”

Overcoming economic “stifling”
One of the central challenges the industry faces in switching to or incorporating renewable materials into their products, such as agrowaste, is cost competitiveness with traditional fossil-based materials.

Hildebrand says the industry has been “stifled by economics” but ReStalk is aiming to overcome price disparities through scale-up projects like its new biorefinery.

“In almost every industry, innovation takes patience and usually a bit more creativity and effort than the straight-and-arrow approach. This path doesn’t come without its own inherent challenges,” he remarks.

“Remaining diligent in securing the right partners and location(s) has been our central focus in establishing the project. Support from the local and federal government had been the missing piece when looking at other regions.”

Now that French businesses are supporting bio-economy projects like ReStalk, Hildebrand says this is “a breath of fresh air.”

“Governments and policymakers can offer pathways to facilitate entrepreneurs and innovators that are forging the trail to the decarbonization of industries and products. The incentives currently in place should only be the tip of the iceberg.”

By Louis Gore-Langton

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