Meal delivery kits really took off with the pandemic, and they’re still gaining in popularity.
Two years ago, fresh food meal kits were a $7 billion industry, and they’re projected to become a $10 billion industry by 2024.
The downside? Some considerable portion of that money is wasted on packaging to keep food cold. A lot of that packaging cannot be recycled.
But big money is now pouring into a solution. Companies like Thermosafe, Sealed Air, and a Virginia-based startup called TemperPack are inventing new materials that don’t go to waste.
“All of the paper in our products can be recycled, and the starch, which is corn starch that we use, is compostable,” said James McGoff, co-founder and chief product officer of TemperPack.
TemperPack is working with grocers, meal kit companies, bio-tech and online pharmacies — basically, any business that previously used a styrofoam cooler for packaging.
“It’s very affordable, which means we can scale it up. It is very high-performance, so it works really well. And then everything we build is extremely sustainable in terms of how we get it, how we make it, and what the options are at the end of life,” explained McGoff.
Not only is the packaging recyclable, but TemperPack is also putting the machines that make the insulation — they’re basically like 3D printers — inside customer facilities, lowering shipping costs and increasing sustainability. McGoff said just one of its customers could receive up to 40 trucks per month worth of insulation, versus just four if they produce it on site. So in a year, TemperPack is potentially taking more than 400 trucks off the highway, just for one customer.
That was a big draw for Martha Stewart-branded meal maker Marley Spoon.
“The goal is to save money at various points within supply chain. Obviously, because we make it within the facility, we don’t have any logistics or shipping costs,” said Dale Trigger, Marley Spoon’s head of engineering.
TemperPack is has raised more than $200 million so far from venture backers like Goldman Sachs, Grosvenor Food & Agtech, Revolution Growth, SJF Ventures, Arborview Capital and Harbert Growth Partners.
