Amcor Lift-Off: shining a light on the packaging start-up scene

By Frank Lehmann, Vice President Corporate Venturing & Open Innovation at Amcor

Back in April of this year we launched Amcor Lift-Off and with eight applicants now shortlisted and winners soon to be announced (watch this space!) it’s an opportune time to reflect on the terrific engagement we’ve had with the program.

For the reminder, Amcor Lift-Off is an open-call initiative that will see Amcor offer up to US$250,000 in seed funding to innovative start-ups with differentiated solutions and business models. This is unique for the packaging industry and a testament to Amcor’s commitment to innovation and driving industry progress. After all, the initiative will see a company that’s been around for 160 years invest in and support budding start-ups bringing fresh ideas to packaging.

This collaborative approach to innovation is hugely appealing, and perhaps that’s why Amcor received more than 150 applications for the first round of Amcor Lift-Off. Not only did this number exceed our initial ambitions for the program, but the quality of applicants was hugely impressive – so much so that we had to have around 60 companies on our “long-list” of potential start-ups to invest in. Our aim is to attract the best and brightest entrepreneurs to come to Amcor to scale their packaging start-ups and that’s exactly what we’ve been able to achieve.

The diversity of the applicant businesses is worth pausing on, both in terms of geography and innovation areas. Amcor received plenty of applications from Europe and North America but also Africa, the Middle East and East Asia, across a broad spectrum of technologies, most notably biomaterials and recycling systems.

The initiative allows Amcor to tap into the incredibly exciting innovation taking place around the globe. Given the number of candidate start-ups, and above all their strength and breadth, there’s a feeling that Amcor Lift-Off has shone a light on the packaging start-up scene and even lit a fire for further innovation.

With Amcor having shortlisted the strongest 12 applicants in the field in June following a process involving detailed interviews and research, a series of pitch days are taking place throughout the summer to determine the winners. These pitch days will see applicants provide a 20-minute pitch and then go through a 30-40 minute Q&A before the investment committee of senior Amcor leaders decides on winners.

In the coming weeks, we’ll announce which start-ups have succeeded in winning the US$250,000 seed money and opportunity to work with Amcor but the program’s success also means we’re turning our attention to its second round. For those who fear they’ve missed the boat, there will be another round of Lift-Off applications closing mid-October – so get involved and give your start-up the chance to scale and benefit from Amcor’s industry leading resources and expertise.

Amcor is the global leader in packaging innovation, spending more than US$100 million a year on research and development to drive the packaging industry forward. So, if you’re a packaging entrepreneur with great ideas for the packaging industry, what are you waiting for?

Find out more about Amcor Lift-Off here and listen to Frank Lehmann’s latest podcast here.