SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (News release) -- Cruz Foam, a circular materials company, announced the launch of a revolutionary new family of earth-friendly protective packaging products highlighting highly performant solutions to meet specific customer needs for shipping fragile and temperature-sensitive goods for consumers and businesses. Cruz Foam's patented compostable foam outperforms equivalent plastic-based products and exceeds current industry standards for sustainability.

These new products aim to replace plastic bubble wrap, bubble mailers, and plastic foam coolers to deliver superior performance while meeting customer sustainability requirements. The protection that traditional plastic bubble wrap provides is limited by its failure point of bubbles bursting on impact, versus Cruz Foam which delivers uninterrupted protection from door-to-door. Further, the value these highly sustainable products provide environmentally, socially, and in brand reputation for customers is exponential.

Cruz Foam's new family of premium products is powered by "Cruz Foam Inside" technology. The patented, earth-digestible foam delivers maximum protective and insulative qualities that feel fantastic and don't "squeak." The brand's revolutionary designs integrate fiber and corrugated paper to create the industry's first, and only foam-based recyclable packaging. The products have been designed by listening closely and responding to customer challenges ensuring that the products are highly performant, highly sustainable, and exceed our customer's expectations.

New products include

• CruzWrap: A world-exclusive paper-lined foam product designed to wrap around fragile items during shipment, supplying scratch-and-spacing padded protection, thermal insulation properties, and curbside recyclability.
• CruzPack: A premium, first-to-market foam mailer that delivers superior padding and protection, also curbside recyclable.
• CruzCool: A patented foam-walled cold-chain container engineered to insulate and protect fresh, frozen, and temperature-sensitive items, goods store-to-door, with curbside recyclability.
• CruzCush: A high-performance protective product with a "block & brace"-style format for the cushioned shipment of electronics, appliances, automotive, aerospace, delicate goods, and much more. Highly customizable for brand-specific optimization and experience, in combination with cardboard outer boxing to achieve curbside recyclability.

"There are two operating principles that guide our approach to developing Cruz Foam products: listen to the needs of our customers and follow nature to find the answers," said John Felts, CEO, and Co-Founder of Cruz Foam. "We've seen ever-increasing demand from the world's biggest brands for sustainable protective packaging that offers high technical performance and is earth-friendly. It would be difficult to overstate how profoundly we can change the current state of the environment through the mainstream adoption of these solutions. For example, Cruz Foam can potentially avoid the release of 53,000 tons of CO2 over the next three years based on current sales projections. This is the equivalent of taking 12,000 vehicles off the road for one year, not to mention the potential reduction of plastic waste entering our oceans."

Products will be available later this year.

The company sees several key trends converging in the sustainable packaging space:

• The e-commerce packaging market continues to grow and is projected to reach USD 115 billion by 2029. As that trend continues, the sustainable packaging market is expected to surpass USD 396 billion by 2030, creating enormous opportunities for players targeting these markets.
• The online grocery delivery services market is projected to grow to USD 652 billion by 2027. Further, 68% of consumers consider themselves "online grocery shoppers."
• A 2021 Consumer Brands/Ipsos survey found that 84% of consumers are concerned about plastic and pollution, and 87% are explicitly concerned about packaging waste. A similar study confirmed: found that 73% of consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly packaging.

The company also announced Atlantic Packaging as its go-to-market partner. Family-owned-and-operated for more than 75 years, Atlantic Packaging is committed to supporting the intelligent transition to a circular packaging supply chain and a waste-free world. With a focus on innovation and technology, Atlantic Packaging is a market leader for customers requiring sustainable packaging options, packaging equipment, high-performance materials, warehousing, and distribution.

With packaging accounting for over 40 percent of plastic waste, according to 2018 EPA data, Atlantic Packaging has recognized its corporate responsibility to have a positive impact on the planet. In 2022 Atlantic Packaging formally launched A New Earth Project, a global coalition of athletes, industry-leading brands, and innovative packaging suppliers seeking to create, scale, and advocate for sustainable packaging solutions for brands of all sizes. With a vision to eliminate plastic pollution from the world's oceans, lakes, and rivers, this coalition was founded by Wes Carter, president, and third-generation leader of Atlantic Packaging.

"Our partnership with Cruz Foam is a natural next step for Atlantic Packaging and our A New Earth Project initiative as we continue working to bring together the voices of ocean and water advocacy with brands and organizations that can make a positive impact within the supply chain," said Wes Carter, president of Atlantic Packaging. "Atlantic Packaging and Cruz Foam share the unique position of having the resources, ability, and underlying passion to drive the change that needs to occur to help fight the plastic waste crisis, and together, we will be able to make a lasting impact."

"We are incredibly proud of this innovative new product line, which is a shining example of the circular economy at work. Cruz Foam has created a brilliant, nature-based alternative to harmful plastics, and their evolution into consumer packaging will exponentially increase their positive impact on our ocean. It has been an honor to watch them grow since they were part of our Ocean Solutions Accelerator in 2019 and to support them along the way through direct funding, mentorship, and even introducing them to their lead investor. We can't wait to see what comes next," said Daniela Fernandez, founder, and CEO of Sustainable Ocean Alliance.

Cruz Foam's team also continues to grow, and the company is announcing the addition of independent board director Julie Bashkin who brings years of strategic marketing and business consulting experience to the management team.

More information can be found at http://www.cruzfoam.com/products

ABOUT CRUZ FOAM

Cruz Foam is a circular materials company that produces regenerative, earth-digestible protective packaging foam and other eco-friendly solutions that offer a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based products. Cruz Foam's patented products are circular in nature, using biopolymers found in nature to create a compostable material using the existing supply chain and at a similar cost. Cruz Foam currently works with consumer-packaged goods, electronics, appliance, and durable goods companies. Cruz Foam is a mission-driven company creating impact at scale by empowering industry leaders to be the catalyst for a cleaner environment. Cruz Foam is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California.