The Smart Way To End A Business Partnership

Bioplasmar CEO Sophie Tuviahu says nobody designs a product for a material made out of potato peels, and that one sentence explains why bioplastics keep losing on price. Sophie leads Bioplasmar, which makes biodegradable materials from green waste, after previous commercial roles at UBQ Materials. When she joined, the company was selling biodegradable plant pots into horticulture, a market where a product costing 2 to 4 times more than standard plastic loses every straight comparison, regardless of how good the material is. The pivot she made was to stop selling a finished product and start selling the material itself, supplied to manufacturers as injection molding and extrusion grade compounds. In this episode we dive into: 💰 Why bioplastics get priced out, and it isn't the raw material cost 🌱 The pivot from selling a degradable product to selling a degradable material 🤝 Why a good salesperson beats a conference booth almost every time 🏭 Who actually moves first on sustainable materials, and why 📜 How the EU's PPWR regulation is about to force new demand for compostable materials Bioplasmar makes biodegradable materials from green waste, supplying injection molding and extrusion grade compounds to manufacturers across Europe. Watch now to see how a materials pivot beat a product pivot, and why regulation might end up doing the selling for you. Chapters: 0:00 The potato peel problem 0:47 Meet Sophie Tuviahu, CEO of Bioplasmar 3:57 The pivot from plant pots to materials 7:43 Why bioplastics get priced out 9:57 How the PPWR regulation changes the game 12:26 From convincing buyers to finding the right application 15:20 Who actually moves first on sustainable materials 17:08 The shift from B2C to B2B 20:26 Finding the right distribution partner 21:54 When partnerships end, and how to do it right 26:34 What's next for Bioplasmar 30:03 Advice for founders making the same pivot More episodes:    • The Plucky Bamboo Podcast   Connect with Sophie Tuviahu:   / sophie-tuviahu-11725779   Bioplasmar: https://www.bioplasmar.com/ Connect with me:   / chrisg-jones   Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: WZM4VVGPYWGJNNEB