Lactips and SmartSolve launch water-soluble packaging for personal care items

Lactips has partnered with SmartSolve to develop plastic-free, water-soluble packaging for the beauty and cosmetics sectors. The companies say that this is a market-ready alternative to conventional single-use packaging. 

Lactips is a French company specializing in producing natural and fully bio-based polymers that are said to be water-soluble and biodegradable in various environments.

The newly developed solution is based on PureNil 0, a bio-based functionalized paper developed by the US-based company SmartSolve, for use in plastic-free flexible packaging that rapidly disperses in water without leaving microplastic residues. 

“Water-soluble, plastic-free materials have the potential to transform single-use packaging, particularly in beauty and personal care. This collaboration demonstrates how innovation can translate into practical, scalable solutions,” comments Bertrand Dupeyroux, VP of Sales and Marketing at Lactips.

Jonathan Jakubowski, CEO and co-founder at SmartSolve, adds: “Lactips has been the ideal partner in delivering plastic-free innovation, which has accelerated our journey toward making packaging no longer trash.”

Lactips and SmartSolve presented the plastic-free packaging at Edition Spéciale by Luxe Pack in Paris, France (June 17–18). 

The companies say that this initiative marks the beginning of a broader collaboration aimed at accelerating the adoption of plastic-free packaging solutions worldwide.

Water-soluble polymers 

Lactips develops, produces, and sells natural polymers that are said to be plastic-free, fully bio-based, water-soluble, and completely biodegradable in all environments.

According to the company, “the properties of Lactips products make them an ideal response to environmental challenges in the packaging and labeling markets, as well as for all products related to agriculture and outdoor sports.”

Lactips was founded in 2014 on the basis of research carried out by Frédéric Prochazka, PhD, a research professor at Université de Saint-Etienne, France.

Lactips transitioned to an industrial company in 2022 when it opened its first production unit and appointed Alexis von Tschammer as CEO and Bertrand Dupeyroux as director of Sales and Marketing. Lactips now has 40 employees.

In 2021, Lactips told Packaging Insights that it had developed the world’s first coating for paper-based packaging free from plastics or toxic chemicals that is also home compostable and marine biodegradable.

At Packaging Innovations 2026, EzyGreenPak presented its water-soluble, non-woven, and plant-based fabric for packaging and bagging.