BY MURIEL COZIER
Scott Winston, CEO of fibre bottle developer Pulpex, talks to Muriel Cozier about the development of his company’s single-piece bottle.
Scotland’s Pulpex has developed a single-piece fibre bottle as a potential replacement for glass and plastic packaging. The company is building a new commercial-scale manufacturing facility in Glasgow, UK (C&I, 2025, 89, (03), 12).
Could we start by learning a little of your background and how you came to be involved in Pulpex? Could you also describe how the Pulpex team came together?
Prior to Pulpex, I led a Commercial Science team within the Global Marketing Innovation R&D function of Diageo driving financial growth through application of scientific developments into the world’s leading premium beverage brands. Working alongside the Global Packaging Team and our colleagues in the Supply Team in Scotland, Pulpex emerged from the early collaboration between this core group.
Ultimately, the first iteration of this innovative technology was spun out of Diageo through partnership with Pilot Lite. Pulpex officially launched in 2020 with a single-minded mission to deliver sustainability through renewable packaging.
With the founding support of Diageo, soon followed by other leading global CPGs including Unilever and PepsiCo, the collective knowledge and experience of this group has driven Pulpex’s success in scaling up its operations more readily.
This in turn lead to support by the Royal Society, Innovate UK and funding through Sustainability Investors that has helped to further unlock the science and scale deployment of this innovative packaging technology for the benefit of the environment.
In terms of the development of the cellulose bottle, could you share something about the path to its development and who you collaborated with to create the final product, and share something about technologies that had to be developed to make the bottle possible?
The early-stage R&D was all completed within the innovation team at Diageo with local support from Cambridge Design Partnership on specific pieces of technology that led to a prototype unveiled by Diageo in 2020. The next key stage was to transform the prototype to a commercially viable proposition.
We worked through the onset of the COVID pandemic to build out our own R&D facility in Sawston, Cambridgeshire. Initially, the new team at Pulpex had to overcome the fundamental mechanical engineering challenge of making a single-piece moulded fibre bottle to generate quality and robustness.
Following this, it was also key not to invent technology that already existed. As such, Pulpex forged supply chain partnerships within the fibre industry through Stora Enso and, more significantly, with investment from CMPC, a global leader in sustainable forestry and fibre products based in Chile. The same supply chain approach was taken on coating technologies. Partnering with the world leading chemists at BASF and formulation expertise within Pulpex and partners at Scitech Adhesives in Wales has driven success.
Could you tell C&I about the cellulose feedstock and how Pulpex secures and supports its supply chain?
Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer feedstock on the planet but what is critical is the management of the forestry and the downstream supply chain. Pulpex utilises cellulose sources that are exclusively managed under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certification chains. This ensures that only sustainable sources of cellulose from well managed forestry are utilised in our supply chain.
However, our technology is able to use any source of cellulose; from recycled fibres through to agricultural-waste extracts or from local raw material utilisation. Where we can take advantage of these materials, we ensure that all suppliers adhere to the Pulpex Code of Business conduct which is a leadership position in ESG to ensure business is being done the right way.
The Pulpex bottle can be used for a range of materials. Are you able to tell us how Pulpex achieves this bearing in mind the different chemistries of the materials that can be placed in the bottle?
The advantage of being plastic-free and using coating chemistry is the ability to have the full range of the ‘chemistry toolbox’ to engineer the functionality need. We vary the architecture of the barrier to fit the need of both the usage occasion of the product and the product protection requirements.
We have a range of capabilities from scaled chemistry with strong partnerships at BASF, a global leader in green chemistry solutions, through to early-stage bio-science research with academic partners to achieve and deliver bespoke needs.
Securing funding is a huge part of the innovation cycle. Could you share how you secured early funding and how you were able to secure the funding from the UK Government?
From the outset, Pulpex as a business was designed for success and growth at every stage. Our most recent funding through the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and the Scottish National Investment Bank (the Bank) builds on the ongoing support we have had since inception as we spun out of Diageo with the Pilot Lite Group.
We were later joined by CMPC as a strategic partner and have a strong base group of sustainability-focused private investors.
Now we are at the stage where the technology is proven, and the business is ready to grow. Securing this British success story in sustainability, we are working with the experienced teams at NWF and the Bank to take our genuine fibre bottles and ensure we drive to the next goal, making the technology available globally to all.
Can you tell us a little about the planning and development of the new factory and are there any plans for other Pulpex factories?
We are a strong believer that the world has a plethora of excellent packaging engineering groups and infrastructure, so it would be wasteful to recreate this. Our approach is partnering to supply the technology at any scale to those that wish to adopt it.
We have significant interest both from those already making fibre products and those in the traditional polymer and plastic markets who understand that fibre packaging is a growing area in the mix of packaging formats.
Our new facility in Glasgow will not only be a supply site for the UK market but also for anyone looking to adopt our technology. It acts as a fully tangible demonstration of what is required to become a Pulpex licensee.
Has the Pulpex bottle received approval for markets outside the UK and if so, are there plans to establish overseas production?
Through Pulpex’s flexible manufacturing under licence model and the natural advantages of working with fibre as a material, its technology can be globally deployed to integrate easily into manufacturers’ existing infrastructure removing the need to transport empty packaging to filling locations.
Compatible with all FMCG product sectors, the production of Pulpex bottles is not limited by geography.
What was the biggest hurdle that had be overcome to get the bottle to market?
The technology required to invent then scale… and that’s been the last four years. There is nothing like this in fibre on the market.
We have successfully overcome the fundamental mechanical and chemical engineering challenges to make a product which is affordable at scale – a key differentiator. Now it’s just the challenge of getting it out there.
What are your thoughts about the ongoing global plastics treaty discussions and how this might impact the push for sustainability?
The challenges of the scale of plastic usage for packaging globally is why Pulpex is needed. This is a challenge of over half a trillion bottles being used globally per annum.
Without a credible, affordable and functional alternative to plastic and glass there is no opportunity for consumer goods brand owners to change. If we broaden that thought to all fields of sustainability, the same is true. If we see continued investment in new science-driven sustainability opportunities that enable affordable change for all, any small on-cost of sustainability if it has to exist can be well managed.
Whilst Pulpex has already managed this risk, right now sustainability and affordability are intrinsically linked and better incentivisation for change may be required in some of these broader topic fields.
Finally, what is the next step for Pulpex and are there any innovations in the pipeline?
It is widely accepted that a move from plastic packaging to paper would support efforts to increase the recycling rates of consumer goods. In the UK alone over 38.5m plastic bottles are used every day, with around 16m ending up in landfill, being burnt or littering the environment and waterways, according to Water UK.
Taking this to a global level, over 1.3trn glass and plastic bottles are produced every year. With the recent announcement of our successful Series D investment round and the creation of our first high-speed industrial-scale factory in Glasgow set to open in 2026, Pulpex’s ambition is to displace even just a fraction of this and, via its manufacturing under licence model, deliver over 1bn paper bottles annually by 2028.
That starts in the UK market with launches of products to catalyse the transition.
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