Monday 25 October 2021

Paper-based tea bag maker gets $1m government backing

A Manchester-based company that makes tea bags from biodegradable filter paper has received $1 million (£725k) from the government to bring its product to the US and Europe.

Union Papertech was hit with heavy shipping conditions when COVID-19 struck, as container freight costs surged to unseen levels.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has backed the business with the funding to produce more environmentally friendly tea bags worldwide.

It has replaced polypropylene in tea and coffee bags with a greener paper-based alternative to help tea producers cut down their carbon footprint.

The company has Tetley, Typhoo and Jacobs Douwe Egberts as some of its clients.

Stephen Todd, Finance Director at Union Papertech, said: “As with many UK businesses involved in exporting, the pandemic presented a huge challenge for us.

“Fortunately, UKEF support played an instrumental role, allowing us to pursue new export contracts and expand our work in producing biodegradable paper.”