As the 2030 deadline for the EU’s ban on single-use plastic packaging draws closer, Saveggy, a Swedish food-tech startup, has cooked up a potential alternative to the plastic wrap covering vegetables in grocery stores: A plant-based, edible coating that keeps cucumbers fresh for up to two weeks without a single shred of plastic waste.
Saveggy’s secret recipe is a combination of rapeseed oil and gluten-free oat oil—simple ingredients that could transform how fruits and vegetables are packaged across Europe.
The innovation, created in collaboration with Lund University and stakeholders from producers to consumers, is currently being put to the test in a one-month pilot program across Sweden. Partnering with one of the country’s biggest grocery chains and a produce supplier, the company has rolled out around 250,000 cucumbers wrapped in their edible, plant-based coating.
While it may not sound like a big deal, the company’s research says over 3,000 tonnes of plastic are used every year just to wrap cucumbers across the EU. If the trial goes well, the innovation could spread to grocery shelves across Europe.
Saveggy has already raised around €2.5 million in venture capital and secured another €2.5 million in EU funding through the EIC Accelerator. The European Investment Bank is also eyeing a €3 million investment to help scale the technology across Europe.
If successful, Saveggy’s edible coating could redefine food packaging entirely, offering a sustainable, plastic-free way to keep produce fresh.
