What Disruptive Packaging does

Disruptive Packaging is an Australian-founded materials company that develops, manufactures, and commercialises URTHCOR, a proprietary packaging substrate composed of HDPE blended with 65-70% calcium carbonate and produced through bespoke manufacturing equipment and processes. The company positions URTHCOR as a 100% waterproof, leakproof, reusable, and closed-loop recyclable alternative to conventional waxed cardboard and expanded polystyrene (EPS), with extended product lines including URTHCOOL insulated packaging for cold-chain applications, URTHCOMB honeycomb-structured protective panels, URTHPALLET and CARDI-P pallets, and angle boards for edge protection. Reverse-logistics recycling and on-site closed-loop reprocessing lines are operated alongside box production, enabling a circular-economy model. Manufacturing is anchored by a recently opened 80,000 sq ft purpose-built facility in Mexicali, Mexico (with capacity of up to 20 million boxes annually and expansion room available) plus primary operations in Yatala, Queensland; commercial offices are maintained in Woodland Hills, CA; Wilmington, MA; and Holtville, CA.

The company targets B2B enterprise and mid-market customers in fresh produce, seafood, meat and poultry, and industrial/logistics — supplying producers, processors, distributors, exporters, and major retailers. Named customers include Coles, North Coast Seafood, American Mussel Harvesters, Boston Sword and Tuna, Clean Seas, Altar Produce, Ocean Mist, Riviera Farms, and Eldridge Fresh Organics, with European entry via seafood customers in Norway and Greece. Revenue is generated primarily through unit-priced hardware sales of proprietary boxes, pallets, insulation modules, and angle boards under multi-year contracts, complemented by managed closed-loop box collection and recycling services. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; positioning emphasises total cost of ownership rather than unit price alone, with documented freight savings of 25-40% from the flat-packed design and quantified thermal-performance benefits versus EPS and wet ice.

Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales supported by industry events (Seafood Expo Global, Produce Marketing Association), case studies, and thought-leadership content; the company holds memberships in the International Fresh Produce Association, Global Seafood Alliance, National Fisheries Institute, and the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation. The company is privately held (Disruptive Packaging Pty Ltd; Australian parent), with leadership concentrated in the Penn family — Wendy Penn and Brandon Penn as Joint CEOs, Evan Penn as Director — alongside executives previously at Pro-Pac Packaging, Amcor, Lindsay Australia, and other packaging/FMCG operators. In 2026 Disruptive Packaging completed a US$30 million growth capital raise led by Idealist Capital, concurrent with the Mexicali facility opening, to fund North American expansion and manufacturing capacity.

Name

Disruptive Packaging

Legal name

Disruptive Packaging Pty Ltd

Website

https://disruptivepackaging.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Disruptive Packaging is an Australian-founded materials company that manufactures URTHCOR, a proprietary waterproof closed-loop recyclable packaging substitute for waxed cardboard and polystyrene, serving fresh produce, seafood, meat and poultry, and industrial-logistics customers across North America, Australasia, and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Packaging Materials

NAICS

Corrugated and Solid Fiber Box Manufacturing (322211), Packaging and Labeling Services (56191), Materials Recovery Facilities (56292)

SIC

Plastics Products, Nec (3089), Unsupported Plastics Film & Sheet (3081)

akta.pro primary industry

Thermoformed Packaging (Food, Beverage & Consumer Goods) (IMANAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recycled & Sustainable Thermoformed Products (rPET/rPP, Bio-based) (IMANAHAL), Export & Compliance Packaging (ISPM-15, Heat-Treated Wood Packaging) (IMALAFAL), Hazardous Materials & UN-Certified Bulk Packaging (IMALAGAH)

Keywords

• Sustainable packaging materials
• Cold chain packaging
• Closed-loop recycling
• Fresh produce packaging
• Seafood packaging solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. URTHCOR Packaging Products: Sale of URTHCOR boxes, URTHCOOL insulated boxes, URTHCOMB honeycomb materials, and related packaging products to fresh produce, seafood, meat and poultry industries. Products are sold as reusable, closed-loop recyclable alternatives to traditional packaging.
2. URTHCOR Pallets: Sale of URTHCOR pallets (URTHPALLET) as alternatives to timber and plastic pallets. Highly cost-effective, lightweight, flat-packed, and suitable for one-way delivery and multi-use depending on specifications.
3. Angle Boards and Corner Protection: Sale of URTHCOR and URTHCOMB corner angles providing edge and corner protection for shipping and storage. Made from the same proprietary material with reusability and closed-loop recyclability.
4. Closed-Loop Recycling Services: Reverse logistics and collection services for URTHCOR boxes. End-of-life packaging is collected, recycled, and remanufactured into new packaging. Available in Australasia, Asia Pacific, and North America.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Disruptive Packaging manufactures and sells URTHCOR®, a proprietary non-fibre, waterproof, closed-loop recyclable corrugated packaging material made from 65-70% calcium carbonate blended with HDPE. The company supplies URTHCOR boxes, URTHCOOL insulated containers, URTHCOMB honeycomb protective material, and URTHCOR pallets to fresh produce, seafood, meat, and poultry processors and exporters. It also operates a closed-loop recycling and box collection service in Australasia, Asia Pacific, and North America.

Product overview

Disruptive Packaging offers a portfolio of proprietary sustainable packaging solutions anchored by its URTHCOR® material technology—a non-fibre, waterproof, reusable, and closed-loop recyclable packaging composed of 65-70% earth-based minerals (calcium carbonate) blended with HDPE. The core product line includes URTHCOR boxes for seafood and fresh produce, URTHCOOL® for thermal insulation applications, URTHCOR Pallets and URTHCOMB® honeycomb materials for industrial packaging, and PhasCore™ Phase Change Material cooling solutions for enhanced thermal performance. The company operates a closed-loop circular economy model with global recycling capabilities and Box Collection services. All products are available globally across North America, Europe, Australasia, and Asia Pacific.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• URTHCOR: Core sustainable packaging product made from 65-70% calcium carbonate, 100% recyclable with closed-loop capabilities. Formerly known as UNICOR.
• URTHCOOL
• URTHCOMB
• URTHPALLET
• Cardi-P

Products and services

• URTHCOR Seafood Packaging Sustainable fish boxes and seafood packaging made from URTHCOR material, designed to replace expanded polystyrene (EPS) for seafood processors, distributors, and exporters. Features flat-packed efficiency, up to 10-colour Gravure printing, and strength that increases in cold-chain environments.
• URTHCOR Fresh Produce Packaging Sustainable packaging for fresh produce, replacing waxed-cardboard boxes, crates, and octobins. Flat-packed design reduces warehousing costs and enables up to 42% freight cost savings. Used across celery, broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, grapes, bananas, mangoes, strawberries, and other crops for both local and export use.
• URTHCOOL Insulation Packaging High-barrier cold-chain insulation solution for seafood, fresh produce, meat, pharmaceuticals, and high-value chilled exports. Combines URTHCOR substrate with thermal insulation structure and integrates with Phase Change Materials (PCM) for superior thermal performance — validated in a 74-hour Oslo-to-Boston trial maintaining internal temperature under 2°C.
• URTHCOR Pallets (URTHPALLET) Lightweight pallets made from URTHCOR material, 70% lighter than timber pallets. Flat-packed for space efficiency, waterproof, reusable, and closed-loop recyclable. ISPM-15 export-friendly, no fumigation required, FDA-approved raw materials suitable for HACCP, GMP, and clean room environments.
• URTHCOMB Honeycomb Protective Material Honeycomb-structured protective material with rigid strength, constructed with a honeycomb core laminated between flat URTHCOR sheets. Provides multi-directional force resistance and superior impact resistance for industrial products, heavy produce, and fragile shipments.
• URTHCOR Angle Boards Strong, lightweight, reusable corner angle protection made from URTHCOR or URTHCOMB materials. Provides edge and corner protection for shipping and storage, maintaining strength in cold and wet conditions. Reusable and closed-loop recyclable.
• CARDI-P Cardboard Pallets Lightweight cardboard pallets manufactured on patented machinery. Ergonomic with no fumigation required, no staples, nails, or splinters. ISPM-15 (ESPM-15) export certified, suitable for ambient environments as a cost-effective one-way solution.
• Box Collection (Closed-Loop Recycling Service) Closed-loop recycling service that collects URTHCOR boxes from commercial customers (minimum 150 boxes) and consumer/household customers (minimum 50 boxes) for reprocessing into new packaging. Collection points across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth in Australia, plus Kuala Lumpur, Ningbo, and Mexicali globally.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% lower CO2 emissions across product lifecycle compared to EPS and waxed cardboard
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Phaslo (PhasCore)coreTechnology or Integration · 11 November 2025Provider of innovative cold chain logistics solutions. Phaslo developed PhasCore, an advanced Phase Change Material (PCM) solution engineered to replace conventional cooling methods such as wet ice, dry ice, and gel packs. Partnership integrates PhasCore into Disruptive Packaging's URTHCOOL boxes for superior thermal performance in seafood supply chains.
• International Fresh Produce AssociationsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Global member association for the fresh produce industry. Disruptive Packaging is a member, supporting industry collaboration and sustainability initiatives.
• Global Seafood AlliancesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023International seafood industry association. Disruptive Packaging is a member, supporting industry standards and sustainability collaboration.
• National Fisheries InstitutesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023US-based seafood industry association. Disruptive Packaging is a member, supporting industry collaboration on sustainable packaging.
• Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Australian industry body for sustainable packaging. Disruptive Packaging is a full member and won the 2022 Industry Sector Award for Packaging Manufacturer and Supplier.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Regional players

• BioPak: Australia/New Zealand-based compostable foodservice and packaging company that, like Disruptive Packaging, sells into the Australian retail and foodservice market (Coles, etc.) and competes for sustainable packaging wallet share in Australasia.

Broad incumbents

• Pactiv Evergreen: Major foodservice and food packaging manufacturer with significant EPS foam and foodservice packaging presence. Directly competes with URTHCOR in the seafood/meat cold-chain space and has the scale to fast-follow on sustainable composites, but is not focused on calcium-carbonate-based corrugated.
• Sonoco Products: Diversified global packaging manufacturer with a focus on sustainable consumer and industrial packaging. Overlaps with Disruptive Packaging in protective, paper-based and rigid packaging, and is actively repositioning toward sustainable substrates relevant to fresh produce customers.
• WestRock (pre-merger Smurfit Kappa): Major North American paper and corrugated packaging company that supplies fresh produce and food customers with sustainable fiber-based packaging — the same end market Disruptive Packaging is targeting, and the kind of incumbent whose customer relationships could either enable or block URTHCOR adoption.
• Sealed Air: Global packaging major with SEE Cryovac and other protective/food packaging lines directly serving seafood, meat and produce customers. Overlaps with URTHCOR in cold-chain and protective packaging, but is a broad incumbent with a much larger portfolio rather than a sustainable composite specialist.
• Smurfit Kappa (now Smurfit Westrock): Global leader in corrugated packaging with a strong fresh produce and agricultural packaging book. Competes head-on with URTHCOR in waxed-cardboard replacement, though Smurfit Westrock's substrate is paper-based versus Disruptive Packaging's HDPE/calcium-carbonate composite.
• Amcor: Global flexible and rigid plastic packaging giant serving food, beverage, healthcare, and fresh produce. Relevant because Amcor competes in produce and seafood packaging and is investing in sustainable substrates; Disruptive Packaging's CFO is a former Amcor executive, illustrating the talent crossover.
• DS Smith: International corrugated and protective packaging company with a stated focus on circular-economy packaging. Competes with Disruptive Packaging in the produce and food packaging space, particularly in Europe where DS Smith has scale and sustainability positioning.

Emerging players

• Cruz Foam: Sustainable protective packaging startup using mycelium and chitosan-based foam to replace EPS in shipping and cold chain. Competes in the same end-markets (seafood, produce, cold chain) as URTHCOR but with a fundamentally different bio-based chemistry.

Direct peers

• TemperPack: US-based sustainable cold-chain packaging company (ClimaCell, insulated liners) directly competing with URTHCOOL in pharma and perishable food shipping. Closest pure-play sustainable cold-chain peer to Disruptive Packaging's insulated seafood and meat packaging line.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/disruptivepackaging
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@disruptive-packaging
• Facebookfacebook.com/DisruptivePackaging
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/disruptive-packaging
• Instagraminstagram.com/disruptivepackaging

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Disruptive Packaging