Karibou invests 5.8 million in a factory for 100% plastic-free single-use packaging

The Barcelona Area has just opened one of the first factories specialized in the production of 100% plastic-free single-use packaging. Cardboard cups already exist on the market, but most have a thin plastic film lining the inside to ensure their watertightness. "95% of disposable cups have plastic inside, even if it doesn't look like it. We have developed cups, plates, and salad bowls with the same features, but without a gram of plastic, only sustainable plant fibers with FSC certification," explains Xavi Pinosa, general manager and founding partner, along with his father, Joan Ramon Pinosa, of Industrias Sostenibles Karibou.

This new company, established last summer, in the midst of the pandemic, has just launched a plant in Sant Cugat del Vallés that has involved an investment of 5.8 million euros and has created, for now, 30 jobs. "In this type of products that must be in contact with fats or liquids, plastic is not easy to replace; Karibou is one of the first companies in Europe and even worldwide to manufacture disposable cups without laminated plastic and without fluorine," assures Joan Ramon Pinosa. According to the businessman, Karibou applies an ultrasonic sealing technology that guarantees that the cups will not leak and can hold boiling coffee or a soft drink for three hours.

With a total of 5,400 square meters, Karibou's factory in Sant Cugat has two floors and has been conceived as an industry 4.0 that applies both artificial intelligence and robotics, automation, and the Internet of Things (IOT). The latest technology machinery that has been incorporated allows manufacturing, for example, 130 cups per minute on each line, with an initial transformation capacity of 300 million cups and 3,000 tons of paper rolls annually.

In a second phase, in 2022, Karibou will launch a wet production line, that is, it will work with paper pulp to expand the range of products and also be able to manufacture plastic-free disposable cutlery and container packaging for the agricultural sector, for fruit producers, for example.

Strong growth potential

This 2021 the company expects to bill around 4.3 million euros and its business plan trusts in reaching 25 million in 2024, although the founding partners consider that the figure will be much higher, as the market growth for this type of "truly sustainable products" is accelerating. "There is increasing social awareness and the regulatory framework clearly drives this sector; these are two profound forces of change that offer us a true blue ocean in market terms," reflects Xavi Pinosa. The executive recalls that on July 3, the European directive regulating single-use packaging was approved and will prohibit plastic cutlery and plates. Cups are not prohibited, but it will be mandatory to identify that they contain plastic, whether a lot or a little.

"There is increasing social awareness and the regulatory framework clearly drives this sector; these are two profound forces of change that offer us a true blue ocean in market terms," Xavi Pinosa

Since the factory started its activity last February, Karibou has already managed to create a distribution network both national and international, with a client portfolio that includes supermarket chains, vending and catering companies, and also fruit and vegetable packers. 90% of clients are international, as external demand for this type of genuinely sustainable disposable products is increasingly strong in countries such as France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, and Portugal.

Shareholders hand in hand with Crea Inversión

Joan Ramon Pinosa is a great expert in the single-use packaging sector, as he has been linked to this business for the last 45 years. He was a founding partner and senior executive of the Catalan company Nupik Internacional, where he worked until last year, when, far from retiring, he decided to start a new professional stage with his son. To launch Karibou, the Pinosa family has allied with a family office from Reus and also has allowed several private investors to enter its shareholding who subscribed to a capital increase last summer with the advice of the consultancy Crea Inversión.