NZ Startup Woolchemy Is Breaking Into A $165 billion global market

A few months ago, through a series of bizarre events, I sat in on a funding round pitch, listening to Startup hopefuls. I was struck by a few things. One, scaling is a bitch. Two, it’s heartening to see how many startups want to support our primary industries. I feel as though us $10 coffee-quaffing city-slickers can sometimes forget what keeps the country ticking sometimes. Finally, one presentation was a clear standout, and you could feel everyone on the call prick their ears at what was being offered. This presentation was from Woolchemy, led by Derelee Potroz-Smith, and it’s nice picking up the story again after they’ve secured a $1.5 million seed round.

You’d think after thousands of years of use we would have figured out everything there is to do with wool. But not so. Woolchemy has been able to create “neweFlex”, which they describe as the “world’s first biodegradable acquisition distribution layer (ADL) for disposable hygiene solutions”. Woolchemy notes their special treatment boosts Wool’s natural absorbency to 10 times its weight while still feeling dry and comfortable.

The material is sold to external manufacturers to be used within their personal hygiene products, such as baby nappies, so Woolchemy can focus on being a bulk Business-to-business enterprise without having to get into the knife fight of shelf space in stores. But the material offers a lot of value that Woolchemy believes will give it the edge in the US$57 billion non-woven materials market for use in personal hygiene.

The market is currently flooded with inferior oil-based synthetic textiles, which are usually single-use in the case of sanitary pads and nappies. Currently, 248 million barrels of oil are used each year to make the 300,000 nappies that are thrown away every minute of the entire year. Taxes and bans are potentially coming down the pipelines for single-use plastics, so manufacturers are going to start to need alternatives like Neweflex.

Neweflex pulls moisture away from the skin and is completely biodegradable. If you’re not throwing out the material immediately it can go through hundreds of washes without losing it’s abilities. It’s also still wool, so awesome for heat regulation and is naturally odor-repellent.

Derelee Potroz-Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Woolchemy says: “At Woolchemy, we have massive global ambitions in developing high-performance hygiene materials using the power of wool. This investment is an exciting step forward in tackling a $57 billion USD global market where synthetic textiles are used as the current alternative.”

“Consumer and legislative pressures only continue to grow, and hygiene product manufacturers are actively looking for ways to solve the plastic, waste and pollution problems associated with their current products. We’re excited about the value our new investors will bring as we transform both the hygiene sector and the New Zealand wool industry with much-needed innovation.”

The thin material is already being used in a South American nappy factory cranking out 400 disposable nappies per minute, proving the material is already fit for purpose and ready to go. It’s not just nappies and pads Neweflex can be used in, the downstream uses are potentially massive. But we’ll just have to wait and see what Potroz-Smith announces next.

Booster Investment Management Limited is the issuer of the Booster Innovation Scheme, Booster Innovation Fund (Fund) an investor in Woolchemy Limited. The Fund’s Product Disclosure Statements are available at www.booster.co.nz or by contacting your financial adviser.

Boosting sustainability: Woolchemy’s innovative approach to wool (booster.co.nz)

Wool High Performance Materials | Woolchemy

Woolchemy raises $1.5M in seed round