The Department of Business and Labor reported that the Catalan startup Bio2Coat, from Terrassa, has developed edible coatings and packaging for the preservation and packaging of food products.
“They use ingredients and surpluses in the food chain, such as vegetables, fruit, vegetables, and tubers, together with minority ingredients from natural sources to obtain a film-shaped biological source material that can help preserve food and is also edible. Thus, Bio2Coat's product allows reducing food waste and the generation of waste such as plastic."
The startup is a spin-off of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), and has been the beneficiary of the Startup Capital aid from ACCIÓ, the Department of Business and Labor's agency for competitiveness, receiving 75,000 euro to boost its technology in the initial phase.
"The startup is working on two main product lines. On the one hand, it produces coatings for fruits and vegetables that create a barrier against oxygen and moisture to keep them in good condition for longer and improve their visual appearance, providing them with a second fully edible skin that doesn't change the product's taste or smell."
"On the other hand, Bio2Coat also creates containers, such as trays, bags, or heat-sealable sachets that can incorporate some aroma or flavor into the set. For example, the startup has already piloted rice packages that include a tomato concentrate that is to be dissolved in water. Or envelopes with cereals that incorporate a cocoa concentrate and that is to be dissolved directly in milk."
According to the co-founder of Bio2Coat, Jose Ignacio Velasco, "we offer a sustainable solution that contributes to reducing the presence of plastic and that also provides a gastronomic and nutritional value." "We are already working to produce the first batches before the summer in a pilot plant in Rubi," he added.
Bio2Coat, which was established at the end of 2020 and has a team of seven people, already has its technology patented in Spain and has patent applications in Europe, the United States, and Brazil. Likewise, the startup is immersed in the process to close a round of seed capital financing that allows it to complete the market entry process over the next two years.
Source: empresa.gencat.cat