Xampla launches consumer brand Morro to make bio-based and edible packaging competitive with plastics

26 Sep 2023 --- University of Cambridge spin-off company Xampla, which produces plant-based proteins to replace single-use plastics, has launched a consumer brand named Morro. The launch follows 15 years of research and will provide a “Morro marque” on supermarket products for consumers to choose bio-based packaging.

Xampla technology is based on protein research led by professor Tuomas Knowles, a global leader in protein biophysics and Professor of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics at the University of Cambridge. 

The company says it pioneered the development of a high-performance natural polymer film using sustainable and scalable processes. The materials are made entirely from plant proteins, which can be sourced from agriculture waste streams and can break down in any environment, leaving no pollutants behind.

The Morro launch follows a survey by the company of 2,000 UK adults that showed more than half (54%) see plastic as a “material of the past.” Seventy-six percent of respondents said they prefer products ‘to come in natural, plastic-free packaging that can be composted at home or taken by the council alongside food waste.” 

Xampla researchers have been developing bio-based materials for 15 years.Pete Hutton, executive chair at Xampla, says: “The polling data shows that the public is already ahead of the industry in seeing that plastic’s days are numbered. With the public ever more acutely aware of the dangers of plastic pollution and the carbon cost of producing it, consumers are ready for an innovative and practical alternative.”

“Morro will enable brands to make an easy switch away from single-use plastics, and our breakthrough material can do things plastic never could.”

Mimicking spider silk 
Xampla was first launched in 2018, and its researchers have described how they mimicked the composition of spider silk – one of the strongest naturally occurring materials.

“Because all proteins are made of polypeptide chains, under the right conditions, we can cause plant proteins to self-assemble just like spider silk,” said Knowles.

“In the spider, the silk protein is dissolved in an aqueous solution, which then assembles into an immensely strong fiber through a spinning process which requires very little energy – those are all characteristics we keep. Even on a single-molecule level, the material looks like silk.”

With Morro, these developments will be hitting store shelves. The brand says its technology is entirely plastic-free, and the material is not chemically modified – ensuring it can break down with food waste in marine and soil environments. 

Morro materials can also be edible and soluble, meaning they can be used in applications where the whole product is cooked or eaten together.

Additionally, Morro materials can perform in ways that plastic cannot, claims the company, by “micro-packaging” vitamins and nutrients within liquids to protect them from UV rays, pasteurization and changes in pH balance.

Xampla says it aims to make the Morro marque a “gold standard” in environmental sustainability.

Edited by Louis Gore-Langton