Rock beats plastic as Okeanos shakes up the packaging industry

By Riley Kaminer

For decades, the packaging industry has tried and failed to reduce its reliance on plastic. Every new alternative seemed to have a fatal flaw: whether it was too expensive, required specialized manufacturing, or simply didn’t perform well enough to replace traditional plastics.

So when Okeanos Chairman and CEO Florencio Cuétara and Dr. Russ Petrie first started exploring a more sustainable solution in 2018, the odds were against them.

Enter Larry Wyman.

The longtime real estate developer was enjoying life in South Beach when Cuétara, his friend and neighbor, introduced him to the idea of using calcium carbonate – essentially finely processed stone – to reduce plastic content in packaging.

What started as a casual chat about structuring the business soon turned into a full-time role in building a company with global aspirations.

“Historically, calcium carbonate had a terrible reputation in the industry,” Chief Strategy Officer Wyman told Refresh Miami. “People had tried to use it before, but the material would either damage expensive packaging machinery or weaken the final product. It was seen as an additive at best – something that could make up 5% or 10% of a package, but never a true replacement for plastic.”

*Okeanos Chief Strategy Officer Larry Wyman*

Okeanos set out to change that perception. Instead of adding calcium carbonate to traditional plastic resins, it developed a proprietary process that reduces the density of the mineral while maintaining strength and flexibility. The result is a material that can replace up to 50% of plastic in packaging, runs on existing manufacturing equipment, and costs the same (or less) than conventional plastic.

The world produces 440 million tons of plastic annually, with 36% of that used for packaging. While bio-plastics and compostable materials offer promising long-term solutions, they require expensive new manufacturing infrastructure and struggle to reach economies of scale. Okeanos, on the other hand, is designed to work within the existing system.

“If you want to make an immediate impact, you have to be able to use less plastic today, not in 10 or 20 years,” Wyman said. “We don’t require brands to change their supply chains. Their packaging manufacturers just swap out their plastic resin for our compound. It’s like changing from one brand of cake mix to another. The process stays the same.”

That simplicity has caught the attention of some of the biggest consumer goods companies in the world. Okeanos has already inked deals with manufacturers producing millions of plastic bags and packaging products in Latin America, and the team expects to see their materials used in major U.S. retailers like Target by mid-2025.

Unlike traditional plastics, which rely on fossil fuels, Okeanos’ calcium carbonate is sourced as a byproduct of stone quarrying operations. “We’re not mining new materials for this,” Wyman explained. “We use the tailings from other stone processing, which means we’re repurposing existing resources. The Earth naturally produces more calcium carbonate every year than we could ever use.”

Now that the company has proof of concept and commercial traction, they’re turning to outside investors for the first time and was a presenting company at the Florida Venture Capital Conference in March. Up until recently, Okeanos had been almost entirely self-funded, with support from friends and family. But with demand growing and global brands ready to scale their adoption, the company is seeking additional funding to expand its sales team and operations.

“We’re not asking companies to pay more to be sustainable,” Wyman said. “We’re giving them a product that’s just as good, if not better, at the same price or less. And every time they use it, they cut their virgin plastic use in half, no consumer action required.”

“If we can scale this quickly, we can help bend the curve before plastic production doubles or triples in the next few decades,” Wyman asserted. “That’s what we’re working toward.”

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Riley Kaminer

I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.

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