Upstream integration strategy: Novamont acquires Mater-Bi feedstock plantUpstream integration strategy: Novamont acquires Mater-Bi feedstock plant

Novamont, the Novara, Italy-based producer of the Mater-Bi family of bioplastics, would appear to be having a busy first quarter. Not only has the company this year already introduced the first mulching Mater-Bi film for strawberries and its Mater-Bi material was selected for the coating of the new eco-packaging for frozen organic wild berries sold under the COOP brand in Sweden, the company just recently also announced an important deal with Unicoop Firenze, the first large retailer in Italy to replace shopping bags made from traditional plastic with those made from Mater-Bi. Following various successful pilots at various points of sale, Unicoop has now decided that henceforth only bioplastic bags and gloves are to be used at the fruit and vegetable sections at its 103 points of sale in Florence and throughout Tuscany.