“We saw how much plastic we are using and there was no alternative solution existing in the market,” explained Angela Ivanova, CEO and cofounder LAM’on, in an exclusive interview for Green Start-up.

LAM’ON is a manufacturer of bio-based and compostable thermal laminating films for paper and cardboard application and packaging foils for the beauty, drinks and luxury packaging industries.


Their goal is to help reduce the 1.2 M metric tones of laminated paper that gets wasted each year with their bio-based and compostable thermal laminating film that offers a new end of life option for products that will otherwise get incinerated or landfield.

In 2017, Gergana Stancheva, a graphic designer and illustrator, and photographer and prepress manager Angela Ivanova were strongly linked to the printing industry through their jobs. Both were eco-activists volunteering for different causes and they couldn't help but notice the massive amounts of thin plastic film used for laminating print materials and cardboard packaging to preserve the material and enhance their look.

“We just saw how much plastic we are using in everyday life. The lamination process is supposed to make certain products pop out or make them more durable from moisture, but once you laminate the paper, for example, it becomes un-recyclable, so you lose the resource that the paper is and you're making more and more plastic pollution,” said Angela Ivanova.

What is LAM’ON and how it came to being

In 2018, the two teamed up with Associate Professor Dr. Philip Ublekov, an expert in biopolymers and polymer co-extrusion at the Bulgarian Academy of Science, and founded LAM’ON with the aim of developing a product that could easily replace the current petroleum-based plastic solutions, enhance safety for human health and the environment, and could be recycled or composted.

“We decided to apply for the EIT Climate Kick Accelerator. By that time we were like, okay, it's all very fun and business-y, but we have to get a science person to help us with this entire development if we would like to actually make it not only be a research. We started searching for such a person throughout Bulgaria, but there weren't a lot of scientists willing to bridge the gap between science and business and actually do the work outside of the laboratory. We got pointed towards professor Philip, who was younger and working with biopolymers a lot.”

After teaming up, they got to the EIT Climate Kick Accelerator with 15.000 euro of their first grant, used for purchasing different raw materials and searching for a sub-constructing company that would rent them a machine. Then, they applied for the Shiva's Venture and got their second award from there, worth $30.000. Angela tells us that they realized the little bits of money would not be enough to finish their product and make it a reality, so they needed to do more to scale up their company and get their validation.

“And in 2020, right before COVID, we got our first angel investors to join the company with 150.000 euros. Their cash actually helped us realize that this is an actual thing that needs and should happen.”

Challenges of making a new biodegradable product

From a commercial stand-point, Angela says there is a big issue. “A couple of years ago, biobased and biodegradable were words that were actually working well for the community. Nowadays, because there aren't waste streams for bio-based materials, people don't really know what to do with the waste after.”

Because of that, their focus lies on communicating with companies, with corporates and with nationals that a new waste stream for bio-based and compostable materials. She explains that bioplastics can be recycled up to five times, which means that you don't have to just throw it away right away and leave it to decompose, but that you can use it again and again.

Currently, the focus for a lot of companies is recycling plastics and petroleum plastics. Angela explains that this focus is not sustainable, because you may recycle it five times, but after that it becomes trash again.

When asked about how the companies have received the product and the price, the CEO tells us the feedback was good, and even though more expensive, the usage of such product will not be felt throughout revenues.

“Compared to the conventional, very low quality plastic, it's like three four times more expensive. If the packaging mineral bottles, the multi-pack, it's about 2 euro, ours is about 5.50. But in the sense of taxes, because a lot of companies are paying taxes when they make such waste, this can actually be balanced. So in that sense, these tiny little 0.002 cents above their packaging will actually be very well seen by the end of the year throughout their revenues.”

Cutting 18.000 tons of CO2 emissions annually

Angela says communicating and focusing on education through means such as social media is essential in spreading awareness about the pollution caused by industries such as packaging alone. The company is focused on calculating how much CO2 they could save by implementing their product on a larger scale. The results may vary, but the CEO gave us an example to fully understand the potential.

“So, we have this calculation regarding the plastic used to wrap salads, frozen fish, meat and so on. If we eliminate 10.000 tons of plastic, which is used on a regular basis, this will mean that we will cut 18.000 tons of CO2 emissions. This equals with removing around 4.000 cars from the roads each year.”