31. Footprint

CNBC

a day ago

Founders: Troy Swope, Yoke ChungCEO: Corey BerendsLaunched: 2014Headquarters: Gilbert, ArizonaFunding: $1.2 billionValuation: N/AKey Technologies: Low code/no code softwareIndustry: MaterialsPrevious appearances on Disruptor 50 list: 1 (No. 45 in 2021)
The materials that food and beverages are packaged in are big business, and increasingly a political issue.
Over the past decade, a focus on sustainable design linked to the issue of climate change was at the forefront of many these efforts. Now, the Trump administration's trade policy and tariffs on materials like aluminum has some big bottling companies like Coca-Cola rethinking what packaging a drink should be in. Trump, along with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., have also focused on eliminating microplastics, PFAS and other synthetic chemicals in food and beverage packaging.
Those efforts are shining a larger spotlight on the niche of sustainable packaging for major food, beverage and consumer product companies, something that Arizona-based material science technology firm Footprint has been working on for years, and working on at a level that remains relevant regardless of the politics of the moment. Since its founding in 2010, Footprint has assisted a variety of companies across the food and consumer goods space to create sustainable alternatives to the plastic and polystyrene foam typically used in packaging.
The company has found success with a variety of products you'd see in supermarkets or consumers' hands. Last year, Footprint worked with Starbucks and Tim Hortons on fiber-based cup lids. Flora Food Group, a Dutch food company, worked with Footprint on the world's first plastic-free, recyclable tub for its plant-based butters and spreads. Earthbound Farm, which sells organic greens, veggies and salad kits, worked with Footprint to create a plant-based tray made from recycled fibers that uses 95% less plastic than standard clamshell packaging.
Footprint is also looking at ways to bring its approach to materials used in residential landscaping. It collaborated with RootMaker Products Company to create a fully compostable plant pot that eliminates plastic waste in gardening. It also is the official sustainability partner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury, aiming to bring some of those products, like plastic-free cups, into a sports arena.