AUSTRALIA | Sustainable packaging company Great Wrap has entered voluntary administration following years of financial losses and a failure to achieve commercial scale.
The Melbourne-based manufacturer was best known for its compostable cling film and pallet wrap, made from plant and food-waste materials as an alternative to conventional plastics.
Founded in 2019 by Jordy and Julia Kay, Great Wrap positioned itself as an innovator in material science, producing compostable stretch wrap for homes, retail, and industrial use. The company claimed to have diverted more than 15 million metres of plastic wrap from landfill and became a certified B Corporation in 2022. With strong investor interest, the business raised more than $20 million to expand its production facility and move into the FMCG supply chain.
However, the company never reached profitability. By September 2025, it owed around $39 million and had accumulated total losses of more than $26 million since inception. Administrators Brent Morgan and Shane Cremin from Rodgers Reidy were appointed on 17 September, confirming that manufacturing had ceased and all five employees had been made redundant. Revenue was reported to have fallen by about 32 percent between 2023 and 2025, while high operating costs and limited demand created ongoing pressure.
Great Wrap’s collapse reflects the broader challenges of commercialising sustainable packaging. While interest in eco-friendly materials remains strong, many FMCG producers and supermarket groups have shifted focus toward recyclable rather than compostable solutions. The company’s model relied heavily on rapid adoption that did not materialise at the scale needed to sustain its operations.
For retailers and manufacturers, the failure is a reminder that sustainability alone cannot guarantee business success. The path from innovation to market acceptance must align with cost structures, production capacity, and supply chain priorities.
The fall of Great Wrap highlights a key truth for the FMCG and packaging sectors: purpose-driven innovation must also be commercially resilient. To survive, sustainable alternatives need not only to inspire but to compete effectively on price, performance, and distribution.
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