M2Bio Sciences, out of Cape Town, South Africa, is a biotechnology company that researches, develops and commercializes a range of CBD-based products. The company is now rolling out its new sustainable packaging solution Hempcelium, to be piloted and implemented by it's Liviana Extra Virgin Olive Oil brand. The state-of-the-art sustainable packaging is customized to fit its Extra Virgin Olive Oil glass bottles. The solution is a Hempcelium transport packaging foam made from hemp agri-waste and mushroom mycelium.

Hempcelium is a unique composite that outperforms most other sustainable alternatives currently available. The packaging structure is completely organic and can be grown into almost any shape, making it as versatile as Styrofoam or polystyrene, less the damage and pollution that comes from using a conventional synthetic material. Because Hempcelium is grown and not produced with chemical compounds that need large amounts of energy to synthesize, the carbon footprint is very low, and there are zero industrial chemical byproducts emitted that are harmful to the natural environment, our water, ecosystems, food chains and human health.

The Hempcelium composite has been developed in-house by its team of engineers at the M2Bio Sustainability Labs during 2021 and is ready for the South African market. The company is in the process of obtaining all necessary legal and copyrights pertaining to the trademark name Hempcelium. M2Bio Sciences' Intellectual Property and Trademark legal team expects the process to be successfully concluded in Q1 2022.

"When you get the product with the packaging you are able to crumble up the Hempcelium foam into your garden bed or soil to decompose and support the health of your vegetation. Hempcelium serves an important function in the decomposition of organic matter in the soil. Research has demonstrated that it acts as a filter, removing groundwater contaminants and pollutants," says Jeff Robinson, CEO of M2Bio Sciences. "It has shown potential to remove industrial toxins from the soil, which includes pesticides, chlorine and dioxin (a highly toxic environmental pollutant) as well as PCBs (highly toxic industrial compounds). In the garden, Hempcelium helps to increase nutrients available to plants, improve water efficiency, reduce erosion by acting as a cellular net, and promote root growth by adding oxygen to the soil and releasing nitrogen, phosphate and other micronutrients. Simply put, it has a ton of benefits."