Seaweed packaging allows Skipping Rocks Labs to package food and beverage products that are 100% instantly consumable‚ cutting down the effects of traditional packaging on the environment. Skipping Rock Labs have named the seaweed-based film packaging Ooho

We connected founders Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and Pierre Yves-Paslier to London South Bank University (LSBU) academics Ben Lishman, Issa Chaer and Alex Paurine. They spent 360 hours over six months:

• Reviewing the technique used to mix the seaweed packaging Ooho
• Researching and testing alternatives to the mixing technique to allow for an increase of 10 times the mixing volume - from 5KG to 50KG
• Performing a review of Skipping Rocks Lab‚ original packaging machine design, assessing for reliability, ease of manufacture, ease of assembly and cost
• Permeability testing of the original Ooho material, as the permeability was too high and loss of containment was excessive
• Testing to measure, understand and compate the materials‚ properties to plastics and other alternatives
• Designing and validating a test method for the evaluation and comparison of the permeability of Ooho with other alternatives
• The production of a report detailing the testing, results and recommendations for improving their machinery.

The results:

• Ooho capsules were released to market in 2017. The capsules can be eaten whole, or bitten into to release the product inside
• Discarded Ooho capsules will naturally decompose in 4-6 weeks - just like fruit
• Ooho capsules were used to refresh runners during the 2019 London Marathon, saving 30,000+ plastic bottles from littering the streets during the event.