Notpla rolls out seaweed-coated packaging across 160 Dutch restaurants

Notpla has partnered with Dutch quick-service restaurant (QSR) Kwalitaria to advance its seaweed-based coating, suitable for trays and containers, with logistics provided by packaging distributor Conpax. 

Kwalitaria has introduced fully plastic-free trays for fries and snacks that will use Notpla’s seaweed-based coating, making the trays home compostable and free from plastic and microplastic. 

Pierre Paslier, CEO and co-founder at Notpla, says: “For us, this partnership is about more than replacing a material. It shows that plastic-free packaging can work at scale in real-world QSR settings, without compromising on performance, food safety, or customer experience.”

Notpla’s bio-based material will be rolled out across 160 Kwalitaria restaurants, highlighting how its seaweed-based coating technology performs in high-volume, fast-paced foodservice environments. 

Notpla explains that QSR can be a challenging sector for sustainable packaging, due to “high volumes involved, operational pressures, and strict performance requirements.”

The collaboration comes as the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate confirmed that the packaging is fully plastic-free and therefore falls outside the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Regulation. 

According to Notpla, the environmental impact of the collaboration is “substantial,” with 102.5 metric tons of CO2 saved each year and 6.9 metric tons of plastic waste eliminated annually.

Supply chain collab

The partnership also includes collaboration with logistics provider Conpax, which will help roll out the scheme across the Netherlands. 

Wilco Wieling, commercial director at Conpax, says: “Frontrunners should be put in the spotlight. Kwalitaria is a frontrunner, the first cafeteria organization in the Netherlands to convert its fries and snack packaging to Notpla-coated products that are completely plastic-free and therefore fall outside the SUP scheme. This collaboration shows what is possible when ambition and innovation meet.”

Notpla says the partnership reflects a “growing momentum” across European foodservice to move “beyond plastic-lined paper and address both plastic waste and microplastic pollution at source.” 

Recently, Notpla, together with 14 European partners, secured €4 million (US$4.66 million) in Horizon Europe funding to advance its plastic-free coffee cup range. The project aims to develop fully natural, home compostable disposable cups with no plastic coatings at scale.

It also supplied Imperial College London, UK, with its seaweed-based, home compostable foodservice packaging, marking a full circle moment for the company, whose founders began researching single-use plastic alternatives at the college.