Plastic must go, but performance must stay. That is the idea behind PeelPack, a startup that turns potato peels, a side-stream of the food industry, into Materra®, a high-performance, compostable material designed to replace conventional fossil-based plastics.

Its approach is simple. Instead of asking manufacturers to invest in new machines and processes, PeelPack created a material that works on their existing production lines.

And it is becoming a reality. The company has converted its first paid pilot into a commercial order of 6 tonnes of Materra® for fresh food packaging in Italy, and it is advancing 12 industrial pilots with partners across Europe. For its founders, Slava and Massimo, it is a huge step from scientific research to a real product entering the market.

Our Founder of the Month tells the story in their own words.

The origin: When did you realise this was worth pursuing?

PeelPack started when Massimo’s scientific research met Slava’s business experience and entrepreneurial drive.

Massimo had been researching how potato peels, an overlooked side-stream of the food industry, could be transformed into a valuable new material. Slava saw the bigger opportunity: turning this scientific discovery into a scalable business that could challenge conventional plastics.

We quickly realised we had something worth pursuing. But we also knew that great science alone doesn’t build a company. You need customers, industrial partners, investment, and a product that works outside the laboratory.

That became our shared mission: to take a promising scientific discovery out of the lab, bring it into factories, and turn something the world throws away into something the world actually needs.

A challenge: What was harder than expected?

Honestly, almost everything between the laboratory and the first customer order!

Developing a material is one thing. Convincing a manufacturer to test it on their production line is another. And getting that first customer to actually pay for it is an entirely different challenge.

We’ve experienced failed trials, unexpected delays, technical adjustments, and plenty of moments when things didn’t go according to plan.

One moment we’ll never forget was when an industrial partner told us that Materra® actually ran better than conventional PET on their thermoforming line. After all the hard work, that was incredibly rewarding. It proved that sustainable materials don’t necessarily have to mean compromises.

Fundraising has been another adventure. Many investors love the technology but want to see significant revenue and minimal risk before investing. Some even expect €1 million in revenue before considering an investment, which feels more like Series A expectations than early-stage funding.

But how do you reach industrial scale without the capital to get there? That’s the classic startup chicken-and-egg problem.

We’ve learned to focus on what we can control: build strong industrial partnerships, demonstrate real performance, win paying customers, and move forward step by step.

Advice: What three things would you tell a founder who’s six months behind you?

1. Get out of the lab as early as possible. We learned this during our first industrial trials. You can spend months perfecting something in a laboratory, only to discover that a real production line has completely different requirements. Find partners willing to experiment with you, even when your product isn’t perfect.

2. Listen to customers, not just compliments. Our first conversations with packaging manufacturers taught us that sustainability alone doesn’t close deals. Customers need performance, reliability, and competitive pricing. The sooner you understand what really matters to them, the faster you can build something they’ll actually buy.

3. Don’t confuse interest with commitment. We’ve had enthusiastic investors, encouraging customer meetings, and plenty of positive feedback. But until the investment arrives or the purchase order is signed, it’s still just a conversation.

Converting our first paid pilot into a commercial order was a particularly meaningful moment. It reminded us that the strongest validation isn’t an award or a pitch competition. It’s a customer willing to pay for what you’ve built.

“Building PeelPack has been a roller coaster. Some days you feel like you’re about to change the world. Other days you wonder why you didn’t choose something easier!

But then a production trial succeeds, a customer places an order, or a manufacturer tells you your material performs better than conventional plastic. Those moments make it all worthwhile.

Perhaps the biggest lesson we’ve learned is that innovation isn’t just about great science or a great business idea. It’s about bringing the right people together, believing in something, and having the persistence to turn it into reality.” – Slava & Massimo.