Joe Swash explores plastic-free packaging innovation in new meal deal documentary

Channel 4 Meal Deals host Joe Swash with Xampla CEO Alexandra French Dr. Marc Rodriguez CTO. Credit: Purple Productions

TV presenter Joe Swash will take viewers inside the world of sustainable food packaging tonight (26 May) in episode 2 of Meal Deals: Behind the Bargain. The documentary, airing on Channel 4 at 8pm, uncovers the environmental cost of the UK’s lunchtime staple and showcases a breakthrough plastic-free packaging material from British innovators Xampla.

With Britons consuming over 600 million pre-packed sandwiches every year, the episode dives into the environmental problems caused by plastic-lined sandwich boxes and introduces Morro™ Coating – a plastic-free, PFAS-free alternative created by Xampla.

Developed through extensive research at the University of Cambridge, Morro™ Coating is a plant-based barrier that protects paperboard from grease and moisture. Fully biodegradable, home compostable, and recyclable, it offers a practical, scalable alternative to traditional plastic coatings.

In the documentary, Swash visits Xampla’s Cambridge lab to get hands-on with the material. “The plastic window is very important to supermarkets. If we can’t see, we won’t buy,” he says. “These guys use similar techniques to make a film to replace the wrapping found on sachets and other types of packets. And because it’s made from plants it’s completely edible. So the future of the meal deals – when we’re looking forward – they could be completely plastic-free.”

Same function without the environmental cost

Currently, many sandwich boxes are lined with fossil-based plastics or PFAS chemicals, substances that are non-biodegradable and difficult to recycle. Xampla’s breakthrough product is designed to perform the same function without the environmental cost.

Alexandra French, CEO of Xampla, said: “The inclusion of our Morro™ materials in Channel 4’s documentary highlights the growing recognition that innovative, natural solutions are essential to addressing the global plastic crisis.

“Our technology, grounded in 15 years of Cambridge University research, delivers a genuine alternative to conventional plastics and harmful PFAS in food packaging. With over 400 million tonnes of plastic waste produced globally each year, solutions such as our plastic-free, biodegradable Morro™ Coating demonstrate that a plastic-free future is not only possible but commercially viable today.”

Morro™ has already gained commercial traction and is currently used by Lieferando, Just Eat Takeaway’s platform in Germany, where 41,000 restaurants have access to the plastic-free material.

The second episode of Meal Deals: Behind the Bargain will air on Channel 4 at 8pm tonight (26 May).