EXA AIR

France / Europe

Sustainable protective packaging for last mile breakage and waste reduction using Japanese air cushion technology, startup successfully sold in 2021 to industry player

Partners
RAJA / CENPAC, STOROPACK, DS SMITH, ALIZON INDUSTRIE
E. LECLERC, DARTY, AMAZON

Key figures
200+ customers
100+ solutions

Domains
Sustainable Protective Packaging, eCommerce Logistic, Manufacturing, Circular Economy

Date
2013 - 2021

The Challenge

The growth of e-commerce as led to an increase demand for protective and sustainable packaging to prevent breakage and waste.

Consumer goods like electronics, wine and spirits, ceramics and glassware (e.g. windshields) need significant protection, especially for multi modal logistics to avoid breakage and therefore waste (economic waste and transport plus manufacturing emissions).

However, existing protective solutions (e.g. Styrofoam, bubble wrapping) using air as cushion, interlace plastic material with the air which leads to unnecessary emissions and poor recyclability. This leads to significant pollution with these packaging ending up in nature and in the ocean.

The Innovation

EXA Innovation Studio identified a Japanese technology using protective packaging inflated on demand to protect the good during transport and deflated after delivery, guaranteeing that air is only transported where it matters and in doing so avoiding unnecessary emissions upstream (transporting the packaging to the order fulfillment site) and downstream (after delivery to recycle the packaging).

EIS developed the business from zero in 2013, established a factory in 2014, and developed a solid network of channel partners to sale the various innovative solutions based on the technology. After 8 years of consistent growth, the business was sold to VALSEM, one of EXA AIR’s partners and was EIS’ first successful exit.