Cruz Foam, a circular materials company providing bio-based, regenerative replacements for single-use plastic, closed an $18 million Series A funding round led by problem-solving group Helena. The round was joined by One Small Planet, Regeneration.VC, At One Ventures, and SoundWaves.
WHO: Headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, Cruz Foam was founded in 2017 by John Felts, CEO, and Marco Rolandi, Chief Science Officer, with a mission to replace single-use, petroleum-based plastics. Derived from all naturally occurring food waste materials, Cruz Foam was developed to provide protection and performance but without adverse environmental impacts. The circular materials company produces regenerative, earth-digestible protective packaging foam and other eco-friendly solutions that offer sustainable alternatives. Cruz Foam currently works with consumer-packaged goods, electronics, appliance, and durable goods companies.
WHY: The investment will enable rapid scaling of commercialization as the company responds to the urgency of global market demand and converts to a benefit corporation. Cruz Foam is scaling the production of circular materials with existing industries, catalyzing the transition of global supply chains away from harmful single-use materials for protective packaging and other uses.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: "Cruz Foam's Series A will allow us to accelerate and scale the commercialization of our circular materials to respond to the urgent market demand," says Felts. "Helena is highly aligned with our mission and values. We are excited to collaborate with their team and our other partners to deliver proactive solutions to address the preventable environmental crisis of plastic pollution. Further, our conversion to a Benefit Corporation underscores our core values and commitment to this mission."
"Petroleum-based products, specifically those designed for single-use, pose one of the greatest threats to our planet," states Henry Elkus, founder of Helena. "Through our work and investment with partners like Cruz Foam we're aiming to tackle the issue in a wholly innovative way to sustain meaningful change in the packaging space."
DETAILS:
