Group Lead, Ved Krishna
It was eight years ago when Ved met Gary and Richard for the first time in Australia. Their commitment to customers, and business were inspiring, and years later they would make the list of must-have guests on the Good Garbage podcast. Today, with Gary as the CEO and Richard the Founder of Biopak,
0:00 – Introduction to Biopac and a 15-Year Compostable Journey
Richard Fine and Carrie Smith from Biopac talk about how the company grew from a small compostable foodservice supplier into a recognised voice in the space. Part of that story is committing to compostables when almost nobody else was, and staying committed through years when the market didn’t reward it.
16:00 – Service as a Competitive Advantage in Foodservice Packaging
Biopac built its reputation on service, not just product. Richard explains the same-day delivery commitments that most competitors can’t match and why customer service became the most defensible thing about the company as the products themselves got easier to copy.
32:00 – R&D Collaboration and New Product Development
Biopac works with universities and material suppliers to develop new products. Carrie explains how that process works, from identifying a gap in the market through to factory audits and what it takes before anything gets added to the range.
48:00 – Managing a Global Supply Chain for Compostable Products
Sourcing certified compostable packaging from global factories requires more than standard supplier auditing. Richard explains how Biopac manages that, including unannounced factory visits and ongoing material testing, and what makes the supply chain complex to maintain at scale.
65:00 – The Hyper-Competitive Landscape and How to Navigate It
The compostable foodservice packaging market is more competitive now than it was five years ago. Carrie explains how Biopac handles price pressure from both specialist and conventional suppliers and why long-term customer relationships hold up better than competing on margin.
81:00 – Carbon Offsets, Paper Cups, and the Ongoing Sustainability Journey
Biopac measures and offsets its own carbon footprint and uses that transparency in customer conversations. Richard explains the company’s approach to sustainability reporting and why paper cups with alternative linings represent one of the most important product frontiers in foodservice right now.
97:00 – Regulation, EPR, and the End of Problematic Plastics
Legislation eliminating problematic single-use plastics is accelerating the market for compostable alternatives. Richard and Carrie explain what that regulatory shift means for Biopac’s positioning and why they see polystyrene and multi-layer plastics as the next materials to be phased out at scale.
113:00 – Reuse as the Ultimate Destination for Sustainable Packaging
The conversation ends on reuse. Richard and Carrie explain Biopac’s vision for a reusable packaging system in foodservice and why they see reuse as the logical long-term step beyond compostables, not a replacement for them.
Let’s come together!
