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UK family office buys into sustainable packaging venture

A British family office has invested venture capital in a food packaging technology that extends the shelf life of foodstuffs such as fish, allowing them to be shipped rather than air freighted.

With the $12.6 million investment, led by Wheatsheaf Investments, BluWrap will increase the varieties of meat the technology can be applied to, including pork.

The company's product uses a patented oxygen management technology to keep protein foods, such as seafood and other meats, fresh for a longer period. This means items can be transported by sea, rather than airfreight, reducing their carbon footprint.

The technology reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 99%, and doesn't require environmentally-unfriendly polystyrene packaging. It also reduces the need for expensive airfreight.

The US start-up will also use the funds to accelerate adoption of its technology, secure new global locations in its food supply, and expand global markets.

Wheatsheaf Investments is part of the Grosvenor Estate, the private real estate and investment office of the sixth Duke of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor, one of the wealthiest individuals in the UK.

Its investment focus is on companies that contribute to securing sustainable food and energy supplies.

Wheatsheaf chief executive, Anthony James, says the investment vehicle was impressed with BluWrap's technology and market acceptance, adding the investment would help the product become a world-class alternative for transporting fresh protein around the globe using the “most environmentally sustainable methods”. 

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