Member Article

Plant based packaging firm from Liverpool to appear on Dragon's Den

A Liverpool based company that creates sustainable packaging with a focus on plant based and 100% biodegradable & compostable products is set to appear on Dragons’ Den this week.

Set to air this Thursday (February 17), the next episode of BBC One’s popular pitching show for businesses will feature Green Bell Packaging, which runs its operations from its Albert Dock HQ and was established back in 2018.

Viewers will see founder M Vahid Nagori and Associate Director Thibault Denis seek investment from the famous Dragons, including Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett.

Although Green Bell Packaging’s head office is in the heart of the city centre, the team has an international presence, with a London office and contacts all over Europe. Boasting an impressive client list across several sectors including hospitality and events, pharmaceutical, retail and e-commerce and food and drink to name a few, the firm has worked with some of the UK’s largest high street retailers and wholesalers.

M Vahid said: “We were delighted when we got the call to ask us to go on the show. Our aim is to revolutionise the packaging industry, all with the environment in mind, so to be given a platform on national television to showcase our work was just fantastic. We are passionate about raising awareness of some of the misleading information used in the sustainable packaging industry, with many sustainable products requiring industrial facilities to break down. This is where Green Bell Packaging differ.

“Protecting the planet is a key ethos of the business and a pillar from which it was built and founded. Plastic waste is among one of the biggest contributors to the deterioration of our land and marine life, with 79% of it ending up in the ocean or in landfills. Although there has been an emphasis on recycling in recent years, we believe that this alone is not enough.”

Green Bell Packaging’s products are designed to be completely home compostable, giving businesses and consumers reassurance that they can simply discard their product after use, and it will return to the soil in a matter of weeks.

The team has community and environment at its core and aims to change the way that people use plastics in a bid to safeguard our planet.

Operations Head Prashant Sali added: “It’s a really exciting time for us as a business. The company is expanding rapidly and in the last 12 months we have experienced a noticeable growth in our sales. After introducing the first completely plant-based mailing bag to the UK market during lockdown in 2020, we have enjoyed further success with our most innovative product to date, the BioBag.

“Although it looks and feels like a regular plastic bag, the BioBag is made using a 100% plastic-free polymer compound, manufactured from renewable natural materials and vegetable oil derivatives making it earth-friendly. Successfully tested for zero plastic content by the Low Carbon Eco Innovatory of Liverpool John Moores University, the unique composition of the BioBag offers an alternative to mass produced single-use plastics and will degrade naturally, with no industrial process required, and is the leading 100% plastic free packaging solution on the market globally in terms of its environmental impact.”

A brand-new tax on plastic packaging will be introduced in the UK with effect from April 1. The aim of the tax is to incentivise the use of recycled material in the production of plastic packaging.

The primary legislation (set out in Finance Act 2021) provides that the tax will apply at a rate of £200/tonne on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled plastic manufactured or imported into the UK (including packaging on goods which are imported).

Green Bell Packaging will appear in the Den this Thursday (February 17) on BBC One at 8pm where viewers will get to see if the duo get the backing of the Dragons. Watch this space!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Maria Cochrane .