Moving to capitalise on the ban on single-use plastics locally, start-up company Boxpert Limited is moving to tap into a growing demand for eco-friendly products as it carves out a space for its paperboard lunch boxes and other packaging solutions.

The four-year-old business, which made its official debut late last month following years of product testing and a refining of its business model, now carries a line of lunch boxes spanning some six different designs appearing in single or double compartments and curry goat styles made from kraft paper or white paperboard.

“It took us some and it has been a very tedious and long journey since we started back in 2021 but we are happy that we are now able to cater to the market in an important area, whereby as a manufacturing entity we can produce alternative solutions to single-use plastics. As we look to aggressively roll-out our products, we are targeting clients across several sectors including hospitality, food service/restaurants as well as the regular consumers who utilise these products on a day-to-day basis,” Director of Finance Vaughn Hutchinson said during an interview with the Jamaica Observer earlier this week.

“What will set us apart from similar companies operating locally is the large scale on which we plan on doing our business, especially as we look to push our products as a substitute for imports. I think we have the right price, team and we’re using the right raw materials and so we are well positioned to tap into the demand,” he further told the
Business Observer.

Touting its products as completely sustainable, compostable and PLA free, Hutchinson said the products also come as a cheaper alternative, 25 per cent less than when compared to that of competitors.

A national ban on single-use plastics, which first began in 2019, stemmed from the need to prevent non-recyclable, non-biodegradable carcinogenic waste from entering the island’s landfills. The measure, which has since undergone a number of phases, just a few weeks ago saw a fourth phase implementation taking effect on July 1.

In keeping with the requirements of the ban, government in taking a zero-tolerance approach has gone far ahead in almost fully prohibiting the importation, distribution, sale, or use of any single-use plastic food container made wholly or in part of polyethylene, polypropylene, or polylactic acid (PLA). Businesses, which have been impacted by the ban, has since the last announcement been given an additional six-month period to use up or get rid of all existing inventory of single-use plastic food containers they may have in their possession.

The market for eco-friendly food packaging, which is said to have grown strongly in recent years, has been largely attributed to heightened environmental awareness, global sustainability goals, government regulations and a number of bans on single-use plastics as well as increased consumer preference for these products. According to one global market report put forward by The Business Research Company, the value of the industry is set to move from $250 billion in 2024 to almost $365 billion by 2028, moving at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 9.5 per cent.

Boxpert, having invested over US$3 million to secure the proper machinery and raw materials needed for production, Hutchinson said, is now able to mass produce, manufacturing just about 60 boxes within a minute from any of its five manufacturing machines supported by two moulds.

Currently working with its supplier partners to benefit from their technical expertise on use of the various machines, the director said the aim is to have its staff fully trained and ready for the commissioning of more machines and the addition of new products.

With operations now powered by a team of some 25 persons, the company wants to more than double this number in short order as it looks to drive stronger output.

“We rolled out with just the food boxes but there are plans to commission other machines that can make paper straws, cups, plates and bags followed by some others which will see us moving to do customised prints,” Hutchinson said.

Further speaking to the plans for growth and expansion, the director said the company, in targeting both large and small customers, is also now concluding talks with a large local distributor with which it will be working to push more of its products islandwide.

Amid what he also described as an ‘overwhelmingly positive’ response from market to the new solutions being rolled out by Boxpert, Hutchinson said the aim is for the entity to eventually become a one-stop shop for packaging solutions locally.

“ While the immediate focus is to get our products right across the island and to get the other phases of production up and running, a more longer-term outlook for the company is for us to move into the manufacture of paperboard solutions for pharmaceutical, manufacturing and shipping purposes. This, as our aim is to become a full-scale packaging company utilising paperboard,” he added.