Transcend doubles down in disruption at Spectator Awards

Transcend Packaging success at The Spectator Julius Baer economic disruptor awards

Transcend Packaging has been named ‘Economic Disruptor of the Year’ for the north west and Wales by The Spectator and Julius Baer. The young challenger to the packaging industry also collected the National Runner Up award for the UK.

Inspired by David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II, Transcend was founded in 2017 and has grown rapidly thanks to its mission to create sustainable alternatives for brands looking to move away from single use plastic packaging.

Despite being in operation for little over a year, Transcend Packaging is one of Europe’s largest producers of paper drinking straws and has already replaced approximately half a billion paper straws from the eco system thanks to its fast growing plant near Caerphilly which already employs over 170 people. The company is also developing a range of non-plastic packaging solutions for a range of other food businesses and is a market leader in digitally printed carton production.

Accepting the award on the evening, Gabriel Fysh, co-founder and director of Transcend Packaging, said: ‘We would like to thank Martin Vander Weyer at The Spectator and Julius Baer for their support. We are only at the start of our journey and are very excited for the future. Consumer demand for sustainable packaging options is increasing all the time and for too long the industry has stood still in this regard. We proud to be at the forefront of developing greener, smarter alternatives.’

Speaking of the award win, Lorenzo Angelucci, CEO of Transcend Packaging, said: ‘Being recognised as the top disruptor in the north west and Wales and the National Runner up by The Spectator and Julius Baer is complete validation of our mission and shows the huge potential for our exciting young company. Our name, Transcend, tells our story – we want to go above and beyond what has been done before us.’

Lorenzo continued, ‘Our message is clear; it is time to reduce the impact of plastic packaging on our environment. Consumers want better options, governments are legislating to ban single use products like straws and gratefully, our team and our supporters have allowed Transcend to build a robust business that meets this challenge and deliver change at a meaningful scale.’

In its second year, the Economic Disruptor Awards celebrate ventures who are radically changing the marketplace in terms of price, choice, accessibility, distinctive technology, and those which seek to positively contribute to society and human wellbeing.

Having brought together over 250 years of combined industry experience, Transcend Packaging has already won a number of major contracts with prestigious high street brands, supplying eco friendly paper straws to the likes of McDonald’s and KFC as they move to meet the Government’s 2020 deadline for the removal of plastic straws.