Today we’d like to introduce you to the startup LAM’ON, an innovative company that develops and manufactures sustainable packaging and laminated films for the printing and packaging industries. We spoke with its co-founder and COO, Gergana Stancheva.
What problem does your startup address and what solution does it propose?
Once laminated, paper and cardboard products become mixed media and we need a different end-of-life option. Composting is a great one. In a lot of cases composting is the better option for packaging films as well.
LAM’ON developed a core recipe for a film produced on a blown film co-extrusion line that is made from biopolymers only. This allows the company to produce products from certified bio-based renewable sources using about 50% less energy than most of our sustainable competitors.
Using biopolymers like PLA means a different end-of-life scenario for foils, namely industrial and/or home compost. Although there are other and arguably better biopolymers for the production of rigid packaging, PLA is a great option for flexible packaging since it biodegrades fast and efficiently in the right conditions.
The other big challenge solved with LAM’ON’s products is machine use – all of our films come in standard sizes and thicknesses and are applicable on industrial laminators (LAM’ON) or packaging lines (PACK’ON). In that sense, the customers don’t need to make any changes to their processes in order to switch to a sustainable packaging or print.
How and why did you start this entrepreneurial adventure? Any advice from your experience that you would like to pass on to future entrepreneurs?
The short answer is that we were the clients themselves looking for sustainable thermal laminating film. Since we couldn’t find such a product, the research into how it could be made became a business. It took us 6 years of R&D to actually develop our first products and enter the market so my only advice is “be patient and expect everything to be harder and take more time than you would think possible”. It is very very gratifying to see the results though.
How do you expect the sector to evolve? And what expectations do you have for your start-up?
With the current sustainability trends we estimate a share of market (SOM) of 104.57 million euros for our LAM’ON line of products in 2026.
The global flexible packaging market size was estimated at 250.75 billion euros in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% from 2024 to 2030. In Europe the estimated total value is more than 55.52 billion euros in 2024 with an increase to nearly 71.26 billion euros in 2029 (read the published report here). Taking into account the change in consumer behaviour, we expect a SOM of 2.22 billion euros by 2026.
In other words, thanks to current and upcoming regulations in the EU, the importance of ESG metrics for big and small companies, and the growing environmental consciousness of consumers, we expect a fast growth in the European market and the possibility to expand overseas in 3 years.
The market is visibly moving towards more sustainable solutions both in print and packaging. With stricter regulations, ambitious ESG markers and a more educated consumer, industries are relying on innovation to keep up with the trends. This is where we come in! Our products are a direct answer to the need for easy to use and sustainable films. It is crucial to have more and diverse options – the more sustainable options, the better. We don’t have competitors in that realm, only partners in the fight for smarter and cleaner manufacturing. To make it more clear, the CO2 impact of our packaging film PACK’ON Classic for example is 1.9 CO1/kg with an average of 3.2 CO2/kg for PET and 2.78 CO2/kg for PP based films. That makes all the difference when we start talking about hundreds of tones used per month only in Europe.
As for our ambitions – we just started selling our packaging line PACK’ON in Europe, next is the thermal laminating film LAM’ON. And by 2026 we want to expand to the US.
Any new developments in the near future that you would like to share with the rest of the startups?
LAM’ON recently rolled out its first 3 products:
LAM’ON thermal laminating film in soft gloss – bio-based and compostable film with a toxic free adhesive layer for standard hot lamination application;
PACK’ON Classic packaging film – bio-based and compostable clear packaging film that is heat sealable, printable, durable and easy to use;
PACK’ON Shrink thermo shrink film – designed for multi-packs products, bio-based and compostable and easy to brand.
In what areas would you like to collaborate with other startups, companies or other organisations?
Laminating and packaging films are often used as part of a product’s packaging. In order to create well rounded solutions for each customer’s needs, we want to work with other companies that are in the sector – from smart designs and softwares to minimise waste, to manufacturers of other types of sustainable packaging.
You participate in the mentorship programme developed by SECOT and TheCircularLab, can you tell us about your experience with it?
We are just getting started but are very excited about the personalised mentoring program and the collaboration opportunities GoCircular could open for us.