Revolutionizing Sustainable Packaging with VOID Technologies

In this episode of the Venari Podcast, James Gibson, CEO of VOID Technologies, discusses sustainable packaging solutions that focus on reducing the use of virgin plastics through innovative technology. VOID creates lighter and more recyclable polyethylene films by embedding voids, or air pockets, into the material, making it an eco-friendlier option for flexible packaging, including food and hygiene products. James also highlights the company's growth in both the UK and US, its focus on the circular economy, and the exciting upcoming product launches in 2024.

Transcript:

Tim Hartnell: So welcome back to the Venari Podcast. I'm Tim Hartnell and as part of our CEO Packaging series, I'll be speaking with James Gibson. James is CEO at Void Technologies. Really excited to be talking with James today. He's been CEO for VOID now coming up to 10 years before this worked for some great brands including specialities, chemicals, business Byotrol and Whatif Innovation. In this episode, we're going to be discussing sustainability, the circular economy, hiring in the US and UK, and actually what the future holds for plastics and VOID more broadly. James, so to kick things off, yeah, tell us a bit about VOID and how you're not cancelling plastic, but voiding it.

James Gibson:Well, look, Tim, thanks so much for having me on your podcast. So look, VOID is a material science company, we were spun out of Kimberly-Clark in around 2015 and we got a very large patent estate as part as part of as part of that deal. And that patent estate is very much focused on creating cavity or voids or or tiny air pockets, for for another description, in plastics. And effectively what that enables us to do is to create lighter and more sustainable products. And where we as an organisation are  most focused today is on polyethylene film products, primarily for use in flexible packaging. Where we're able to make products with less virgin plastic and make them easier to recycle. The best way to think about VOID is we were a bedroom startup with world class IP. So I've built the business from scratch and today we are around 15 people based in the UK. But also we have a manufacturing facility and R&D facility based in Neenah, Wisconsin where we conduct most of our R&D. But also we are a compounding business and this is where we supply our product which comes as a master batch additive palette and that is then sold into film and packaging manufacturers.

Tim:Interesting. Now thanks for thanks for the sort of overview. Yeah. I mean, look, we've known each other for quite some time now and I always think it's fascinating to recap on obviously what the focus is at VOID. And so what's your view then on sustainability? You've obviously done a couple of articles now in City AM, which I found really interesting to sort of run through. And then how are you contributing, I guess to the circular economy? It's a huge buzzword at the moment.

James:Yeah. So look, I think we take a view on this is we, first of all, we've got to champion the circular economy. So I think fundamentally we have to be making packaging that is circular recycle ready packaging. So that's got to be a core principle of everything you do. But then I started to think about, well, where can you have a big sustainability impact? And if you think around kind of the the waste hierarchy at the very top, it's all about reduction. So if you have a technology that replaces plastics with voids or or air pockets, you're reducing the weight of the plastic. And using less material is fundamentally the most impactful sustainability strategy that you can adopt as any organisation. What  we're seeing out in the market now, I would say in the last, it's always been a target to, to reduce virgin plastic usage. But we're really seeing the big brands really want to get on top of that in the last 24 months, they, they really want to find solutions for using 20-30% less virgin plastic in their products. As well as them all being recyclable.

Tim:OK. Interesting. And has it always been the case that you've been focused on sort of plastics or actually did it sort of morph into that in sort of the early part of the business?

James:The technology is always based on creating cavitation within within plastics, so it's a very broad IP set, so it's relevant to  fibres to sheet for thermoformed goods. Into and into into flexible films as well. But today we're most focused on polyethylene film for flexible packaging.

Tim:And that is, I guess in terms of segments that the consumer comes, you know, would we be seeing that in sort of supermarkets? Are we more likely to see that in retail apparel outlets or so?

James:Think think, think around your supermarket shelves and think around kind of food packaging. So things kind of going into pet food pouches. Into your detergent pouches and then also maybe into hygiene packaging as well. So think around nappies and tissue towel over wraps, kind of all of those flexible packaging products in the supermarket. There, our technology is relevant to a large segment of them.

Tim: Interesting. Yeah, I I always like to ask that because there's always, sometimes it's, it's easier said than you know, it's, it's it's always difficult sometimes to know which products actually the consumers receiving that, you know, your materials are part of.

James: And look, maybe to give some context on that, I think one of the big challenges the industry faces are multi material laminates. This is where you have a material where maybe a polyethylene has been stuck to a polyester and they those materials can't be recycled. And so our technology is fitting in with a big industry trend right now, which is to move laminates to like a single material. So you might have two polyethylene's laminated together. And our technology fits in very well with that proposition and is actually enabling companies to make their products even easier to recycle as a result. So I think that there's some really good industry tailwinds that fit very well with our technology right now.

Tim:Yeah, there's definitely a gap in the market that you guys are plugging for sure. So moving on to the next question, which is around sort of hiring and you know, potential challenges faced, you know, in terms of growing teams in the US and then the UK. What's  your your approach been? And yeah, maybe you can talk through some of those challenges.

James:Well, building a business between Europe and North America has inherent, it has inherently had challenges having teams in separate locations. You're a small organisation is a challenge, but it's it's perfectly possible and the first thing you have to do is foster a really strong company culture. And you have to make more of an effort, maybe than normal to ensure that you're talking to people regularly. And Zoom has been a great tool to enable that to happen. So I think once you're able to kind of set that company culture and engage with your team regularly in a meaningful way, then you've set some strong foundations. So that that's one of the things that we constantly challenge ourselves to work hard on. The second thing that we have to think about is, is recruiting is recruiting talent. Where our business is based in Wisconsin, that's really the heartland of North American packaging in the Midwest. And so we have a really great talent pool, but we have to find ways to attract the best talent because competition is fierce for, for that. So we have to have a compelling proposition as an early stage business to attract, to attract the best people. And in the UK it's been a little different. We, we, we have hired kind of more commercially based people. And we've kept a relatively small team. So we we really look to build the business out in North America.

Tim:Interesting. And then so, so for North America, is it, do you tend to partner with local firms or actually do you see value in sort of, you know, a bit like sort of our proposition whereby we're a global organisation and obviously have talent in multiple regions. How do, how do you sort of choose your, your partners?

James:Yeah, so we in terms of talent recruitment, we've done some of it ourselves. And then we've worked with local providers because one of the things, especially in the US is, is if you're having to pay for relocation costs. As well as as recruitment fees and and a new compensation package, things start to get very expensive. And we have such a rich talent pool in Wisconsin and and in the Midwest more generally that we've been pretty effective at doing that. But there is certainly a place for, for, for your organisation. You guys have great reach. That can access talent that that sometimes it isn't available locally. So I think it really depends on the role that you're hiring for. And and, and the stage of business that you're at.

Tim:Yeah, no, I agree. It's, Wisconsin is certainly the heart and soul of that North America piece. But thanks for thanks for giving us a mention there in terms of our global reach. Appreciate it. So then finally look what's what's next for for VOID, you know, what are the next few years hold and yeah, maybe you can talk a little bit more about that.

James:I think the the outlook is very exciting for VOID. We're at an exciting inflexion point within the business. Our customers, we've seen a real big uptick in the last 24 months in the number of customer trials that are taking place, the number of customers that are engaged with the technology and, and and are developing their own applications. And we now have test products in North American market and we're we're starting to see the, the kind of the full, full product launches going into Q4 this year. So I think in the short term for 2024 it's a very exciting time for the company and I think 2025 will will be an even bigger year. We're seeing multiple product launches not just in North America, but internationally based on our technology. And I think in an early stage business you tend to think not too far ahead. So we're we're pretty focused on  2024 and getting 2025 right at the moment and then and then we'll start to figure out what we do next.

Tim:Love that. It's great to hear it. It's great to hear the optimism amongst some of the other challenges, geopolitical events that are happening, yeah, around the world. So no, appreciate that. And yeah, good luck. It's that brings us pretty much the end of our episode. So thank you so much for your time. Yeah. Look, look forward to catching up again soon and hearing the news.

James:Absolutely, Tim, it's been a pleasure and thanks so much.

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