Post #66: iBoxit – Rethinking Packaging for a Cleaner Blue Economy

Recently, I’ve been lucky enough to meet and mentor some super interesting founders and BE startups including John Farley, founder of iBoxit. He is part of the NOA2025 programme at Narwhale Ventures and he strikes me as one of those founders who’s not only deeply committed to the problem he’s solving but moves quickly and pragmatically to build real-world solutions.

Through iBoxit, John and his team are tackling one of the less glamorous but absolutely critical challenges in the blue economy: the environmental toll of traditional packaging materials. Their work sits at the intersection of sustainability, innovation, and logistics—and it’s already showing great potential.

Hope you enjoy this week's brief cover of iBoxit and please feel free to reach out to John, even for a chat - they are actively looking to raise and further partnerships.

I wish them luck in their venture!

1) The Problem – Rethinking EPS in Cold-Chain Packaging

In the world of cold-chain logistics, expanded polystyrene (EPS)—commonly known as Styrofoam—has been the industry standard for decades. It’s cheap, lightweight, and performs well thermally. But it's also an environmental liability.

EPS poses a number of serious challenges:

• Non-Biodegradable: EPS does not break down naturally and can persist in the environment for centuries.

• Marine Pollution: A significant amount ends up in the ocean, fragmenting into microplastics that are consumed by marine life, polluting the food chain.

• Recycling Barriers: Although recyclable in theory, EPS is rarely recycled in practice due to high costs and limited infrastructure—most of it ends up in landfills or as litter.

• Chemical Leaching: When exposed to heat, EPS can leach styrene, a potentially harmful chemical for both humans and wildlife.

• Food Safety Concerns: This leaching raises additional questions around contamination and consumer health.

• Regulatory and Market Pressure: Governments and retailers are tightening restrictions on single-use plastics, pushing industries toward sustainable alternatives.

This is the backdrop against which iBoxit is building its solution—designed to meet industry needs without compromising environmental integrity.

2. iBoxit's Sustainable Product Line

iBoxit tackles the environmental pitfalls of traditional packaging with a range of innovative, sustainable alternatives designed to perform at or above industry standards:

a. Insulated Produce Boxes

These boxes are a direct replacement for expanded polystyrene (EPS) with a seamless transition in mind. Designed to mirror the form factor of standard EPS boxes, they allow producers and distributors to adopt greener packaging without disrupting operations. Notable features include:

• Reusable and Washable: Reduces waste and improves cost-effectiveness over time.

• Superior Thermal Performance: Outperforms EPS in defrost time, keeping produce fresher for longer during transit.

• Leak-Free and Durable: Eliminates the melt-and-leak issues associated with polystyrene.

• RFID Integration: Enables real-time tracking to streamline supply chain visibility and reduce loss.

b. Anti-Microbial Sprays & Film Coatings

iBoxit has developed natural, food-safe antimicrobial treatments made entirely from human food waste. These solutions are applied directly to packaging and offer:

• Extended Shelf Life: Proven to significantly prolong the freshness of produce.

• Bacterial Protection: Effectively eliminates harmful food-borne bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes.

• Sustainable Origin: The ingredients are repurposed from food waste, supporting a circular economy.

c. The Pallit®

The Pallit® is a carbon-negative pallet alternative created from recycled and waste materials, offering strength without environmental compromise:

• Light Duty: Weighs only 4.3 kg but carries up to 1.5 tonnes.

• Mid Duty: Weighs 7.5 kg with a load capacity of 4 tonnes.

• Heavy Duty: Currently in development, aimed at handling 12+ tonnes.

3. The Team and Partnerships Behind iBoxit

iBoxit is led by a small, focused team committed to solving large-scale sustainability problems with practical, scalable solutions. Their combined expertise spans operations, finance, logistics, and academic research—providing a strong foundation for both innovation and execution.

Core Team:

• John Farley – Founder & CEO

• Gary Addison – Financial Director

• Fergus Christie – Project Manager

• Rob Cole – Operations Director

• Professor Sheng Qi – Academic Lead, Professor of Pharmaceutical Material Science at the University of East Anglia (UEA)

• Yan Fen – Senior Research Associate at UEA

Key Partners:

iBoxit has built strong collaborations across academia, packaging, and food logistics, including:

• University of East Anglia (UEA) – Scientific R&D and innovation support

• Smurfit Kappa – Packaging systems

• 2M Group of Companies – Materials and formulation expertise

• DFDS – Logistics and transport

• Flying Fish and Bakkafrost – Seafood and cold-chain operations

• Amity and HH Plastics – Engineering and manufacturing

These partnerships help ground iBoxit’s innovations in real-world contexts, ensuring scalability and relevance to industry needs.

4. Future possibilities - potential

What makes iBoxit stand out isn’t just the current product line — it’s the potential to expand their model across multiple sectors and regions where sustainable logistics are not just a nice-to-have, but a necessity.

Here are a few future directions worth watching:

Expansion Across Coastal and Island Communities

iBoxit's solutions are naturally suited for regions where cold-chain packaging, seafood logistics, and supply chain waste are major pain points — from the Scottish Highlands to Southeast Asia. As regulation tightens around EPS and plastic waste, their model could scale globally, especially in small island developing states (SIDS) and blue economy hotspots.

Commercialisation of their Products

The antimicrobial coatings and plant-based box materials developed with UEA have potential applications beyond seafood — from pharmaceuticals to agriculture. This could open doors to broader partnerships in biotech and circular materials.

Closed-Loop Systems and Box-as-a-Service

With RFID tracking and real-time data, iBoxit could evolve into a box-as-a-service logistics model — where packaging becomes part of a full-service, traceable, and accountable ecosystem. This would appeal to retailers and food companies looking to hit ESG goals and reduce packaging footprints.

Incentivised Return Models for End Users

Their RFID tech could be paired with gamified or incentive-based return schemes for customers — flipping the narrative on packaging waste and creating new behaviour around circular logistics.

Cross-Sector Use Cases

Beyond seafood, there’s application potential for iBoxit’s cold-chain and microbial technologies in:

• Vaccines & Pharmaceuticals

• Meal kits & fresh grocery delivery

• Floral and perishable goods logistics

Closing remarks

It’s a pleasure getting to know and support John as part of the NOA2025 programme. iBoxit is a great example of a founder-led team tackling a clear environmental challenge with well-thought-out, scalable solutions — and actually putting them into action.

They’ll be pitching on 1st July as part of the NOA2025 Ocean Accelerator. If you're interested in sustainable packaging, food logistics, or circular economy solutions, this is one to keep an eye on. They’re currently looking to raise investment or partnerships, so feel free to reach out if you'd like more info.

Thanks for reading — and as always, get in touch if you’re building something impactful in the blue economy. H