Green tech: Alibaba-backed Hong Kong compostable tableware maker Ecoinno seeks US$48 million to expand capacity | South China Morning Post

Ecoinno, a Hong Kong green-technology start-up, is seeking to raise US$48 million by the end of the year to fund its plant-based compostable containers factory, to meet a growing demand for such sustainable and disposable products.

Previously, launching climate-friendly plastic-free food containers and cutlery was challenging, since would-be customers balked at the higher costs involved, said Chen, a former textiles businessman.

In 2015, he co-founded Ecoinno with Alexander Bismarck, a German materials scientist who pioneered a method for producing a plant-based material that was sturdy, heat and cold-resistant, oil and waterproof, and fully compostable, together with colleagues from City University Hong Kong.

Bismarck transferred his intellectual property to Ecoinno, while Chen and partner Vivian Chang set up the supply chain to produce sustainable containers targeting the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics sectors.