The Richmond-based startup company TemperPack has inked a deal with one of the nation’s largest food and drug retailers to use its recyclable packaging.
TemperPack, a maker of sustainable packaging for perishable goods, plans to announce that Albertsons Cos. Inc. will start using TemperPack’s ClimaCell brand of packaging to ship pharmaceuticals.
The deal is the largest yet for pharmaceutical use of ClimaCell, a proprietary insulating material that can keep temperature-sensitive products cool for up to 80 hours. It can be recycled with curbside waste, replacing Styrofoam packaging.
“It is a special formula that is unique to our company,” said John Briney, TemperPack’s director of marketing. “It is composed of bio-based materials and paper, and it has certain traits that increase thermal performance, moisture resistance, and a couple of other features that the team at Albertsons was interested in. Curbside recycling is a huge selling point when you are currently shipping Styrofoam.”
TemperPack was founded in Maryland in 2014 by three friends — Brian Powers, James McGoff and Charles Vincent. The company moved its operations to the Richmond area in 2015. It now has a manufacturing plant on Carolina Avenue in eastern Henrico County and an office and research lab in South Richmond.
Albertsons has grocery and pharmacy divisions and operates stores in 34 states under 20 retail names, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs.
The chain plans to start shipping products using the packaging to nearly 50,000 specialty care patients, physician offices and clients in late February, with a full rollout expected over the next year.
By using the recyclable packaging, Albertsons expects to divert up to 75,000 pounds of packaging from landfills every year, TemperPack said. “We are proud to have a 100 percent curbside recyclable product in our packaging portfolio and know it will benefit our customers and our planet,” said Erin Shaal, director of Albertsons’ Specialty Care.
The deal with Albertsons comes as TemperPack plans to expand its manufacturing capacity in Las Vegas to support growing demand for ClimaCell packaging in markets served by that factory.
The company plans to invest $7 million in equipment and upgrades at its Nevada plant and add 40 to 50 workers over the next three months. The company announced the expansion of its Nevada facility after it completed an investment round in January that raised $22.5 million. The investors included Harbert Growth Partners, a Richmond-based firm that invests in emerging, high-growth businesses.
