Rotorua’s ZealaFoam wins Breakthrough Project at KiwiNet Awards 2024

ZealaFoam chief executive Sarah Heine has spent about 15 years developing sustainable packaging alternatives.

A small eco-packaging company from Rotorua has developed a plant-based polystyrene alternative it says will be ready for the world market next month.

ZealaFoam chief executive Sarah Heine and a team of three have been working out production kinks for more than 10 years.

They were honoured as winners at Wednesday night’s KiwiNet awards held in Auckland, winning the PwC breakthrough project category.

Heine said it had been a long but meaningful journey.

“Polystyrene is a really good insulator. That’s why it’s used in a lot of fish packaging and fresh food packaging, things that need to be insulated.

“It is very unusual globally to find a plant-based technology that can replace polystyrene and also insulate,” Heine said.

Heine said they worked with cassava and maize, and she was excited to be closer to offering a solution to a major global rubbish problem.

“You can burn it, because of what its components are, it gives off no toxins when you burn it,” Heine said.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the equivalent of 2000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers, and lakes daily.

Plastic packaging accounts for 36% of that waste.

Unlike polystyrene, which took hundreds of years to break down, ZealaFoam took about six weeks, Heine said.

Tony Lyle, Partner at PwC and Sarah Heine of ZealaFoam at the KiwiNet awards. Photo / Sciencelens

“If we can get it into industrial composting ... It breaks down into natural compounds,” she said.

Heine said they were also in talks about potential licences in different regions, “including Europe, US and India”.

There were some challenges left with recycling the bio packaging and setting up industrial composting situations, but “the potential to do it”, was there, Heine said.

“It breaks down safely into compost - [it’s] carbon, hydrogen, water - there’s nothing toxic in it.

“There are some challenges with setting up industrial composting situations [..] because the infrastructure isn’t all in place yet,” Heine said.

Heine was unfazed by packaging competitors, in her opinion when it came to rubbish, the world needed change.

“The world uses tons and, for example, there’s probably instances where [that] packaging might be better use.

“The more there are out there with choices, the better I think.”

“Mushroom-based packaging, for example, there’s probably instances where [that] packaging might be better.

“There’s a bunch of other new materials, emerging materials made from mushroom, obviously, cardboard, all sorts of things,” Heine said.

The company was among 18 finalists including Rotorua-based Cetogenix, which has found a way to turn sewage into fuel.

Plastic pollution: A discarded plastic rubbish bag floats on a tropical coral reef presenting a hazard to marine life. Photo / 123RF

Dr Florian Graichen, Scion’s general manager for Forests to Biobased Products, said these breakthrough projects demonstrated how research-driven ingenuity could unlock sustainable solutions “to some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges”.

“ZealaFoam is an exciting step forward for sustainable packaging,” Dr Graichen said.

“It showcases how research collaborations can create eco-friendly alternatives that don’t compromise on performance.

“Our work with ZealaFoam is not just about reducing waste but ensuring that sustainable innovations remain economically viable and accessible to industries worldwide,” Graichen said.

Scion scientist and project leader Kate Parker, ZealaFoam chief executive Sarah Heine and Scion materials scientist Stephanie Weal present some of their eco products.

“The next key step for us is to start producing those boxes in sufficient volumes that we can get them into the market,” Heine said.

With a licensee model that ensured the technology ownership remained in New Zealand, Heine said it showcased Kiwi ingenuity while opening doors to international revenue streams.

Supported by recent investments and a robust patent portfolio, Heine said ZealaFoam were ready to meet the rising global demand for sustainable packaging solutions.

Looking toward a future that improved the carbon footprint of commercial food production, Heine said food packaging was still necessary to develop.

Sarah Heine of ZealaFoam. Photo / Sciencelens

“The reality is we still have to package food.

“You can’t go to the supermarket and buy a sauce without a bottle or a container or something.

“It’s a long journey, but we need to make change,” Heine said.

KiwiNet Awards judge Cather Simpson said finalists were a testament to the depth and diversity of innovation in Aotearoa.

“These exceptional projects highlight how long-term investment and collaboration across our ecosystem are now delivering real returns for New Zealand. These innovations have the potential to drive significant economic, environmental and societal change.

“Choosing winners wasn’t easy, every finalist impressed us with their impact and ingenuity. We’re excited to celebrate their achievements and look forward to their future successes.”

The Kiwi Innovation Network is a consortium of 19 universities, Crown research institutes, an independent research organisation and a Crown entity established to boost commercial outcomes from publicly funded research.

The 2024 KiwiNet Awards were supported by MBIE, PwC NZ, Sprout Agritech, BNZ, KCA, Campus Plus and AJ Park as well as Return On Science, Momentum, and Matū, the sponsor of the Momentum Student Entrepreneur.

Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.