Group Lead, Ved Krishna
It took 75 episodes for us to get someone from Eastern Europe, and we couldn’t have asked for a better representative! Angela Ivanova, the co-Founder & CEO at LAM’ON, is a Bulgaria based entrepreneur who is working along with Gergana Stancheva and Philip Ublekov to create a bio-based and compostab
0:00 – Introduction to Lemon and Eastern Europe's Packaging Scene
Angela Ivanova, co-founder and CEO of Lemon, is the first Eastern European guest on Good Garbage. She’s building Bulgaria’s first sustainable packaging startup and explains what the Eastern European market looks like for packaging innovation.
10:00 – Personal Journey from Printing Industry to Sustainability
Angela’s background is in the printing and lamination industry. She talks about the moment she realised her existing expertise could be applied to something better than conventional plastic lamination films.
21:00 – What Makes Lemon's Compostable Laminating Film Different
Lemon’s core product is a bio-based laminating film that bonds to paper and cardboard without plastic. Angela explains how it works technically, what materials it uses, and how it performs compared to the conventional plastic lamination it’s designed to replace.
31:00 – The Lamination Industry and the Case for Plastic-Free Films
Industrial lamination is more complex than it looks from the outside. Angela walks through the different lamination methods, hot, cold, digital, and explains why cost sensitivity has kept the industry on plastic despite the existence of better alternatives.
42:00 – Biodegradable vs Compostable — Navigating Claims and Certifications
The difference between biodegradable and compostable is not just semantic, it has real regulatory and practical consequences. Angela explains both clearly and talks about why getting certifications right matters for the brands using her product and for the composting facilities that process it.
53:00 – Products, Applications, and Print-Ready Performance
Lemon makes films for food packaging, fashion, and e-commerce. Angela explains one specific technical advantage: the surface is directly printable without corona treatment, which is something most alternatives on the market still can’t offer.
63:00 – Innovation Without a Traditional R&D Lab
Lemon built its technology not through a formal R&D programme but by finding the right neighbours with the right equipment and collaborating. Angela shares how that kind of resourceful, community-based innovation has worked for them as an early-stage company in a developing market.
74:00 – Policy, the EU Green Deal, and the Road Ahead
Angela reflects on how EU legislation is shaping demand for products like Lemon’s, and what she thinks needs to happen at the policy level for sustainable packaging companies in Eastern Europe to grow with any stability.
Let’s come together!
