Ranpak Makes Strategic Investment in Creapaper, Innovative German Leader in Environmentally-Sustainable Grasspaper

Latest Strategic Addition to Ranpak’s Portfolio Uses Patented Process for Turning Grass Into Fiber and Paper Products

CONCORD TOWNSHIP, Ohio & HENNEF, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ranpak Holdings Corp. (“Ranpak”) (NYSE: PACK), a global leader of environmentally sustainable, paper-based packaging solutions for e-commerce and industrial supply chains, today announced its recent investment in Creapaper GmbH (“Creapaper”), the inventor of grasspaper and provider of grasspaper products. Creapaper announced concurrently today that the company successfully completed financing round B with new investors including Ranpak, JS Capital, Schusterman Family Investments and Soros Capital.

Creapaper uses a patented process to produce graspap, a raw material required for producing grasspaper, which helps reduce CO₂ emissions and water consumption across the global paper and packaging industry.

Creapaper has been rapidly expanding its reach across Europe through its development and placement of CO₂-saving grasspaper products such as hygienic papers, food & carrying bags and single-use plastic replacements with retail clients in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Italy.

“Ranpak’s strategic investment in Creapaper reflects our continued commitment to sustainability and the use of natural substrates to reduce plastic waste and carbon emissions,” said Omar Asali, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ranpak. “Creapaper’s innovative grasspaper products are primed for expansion across global markets and complements Ranpak’s core paper products and sustainable packaging solutions. Working with Creapaper will advance our mission to replace plastic packaging with sustainable alternatives by expanding Ranpak’s eco-friendly solution set and paper SKUs for our growing customer base.”

Uwe D’Agnone, Founder and CEO of Creapaper added, "I am proud and honored to welcome global ecological game changers like Ranpak and JS Capital among our shareholders. Nine years ago, I started grasspaper with the vision to slow down the plastic avalanche rolling over our planet and to save trees from becoming toilet paper. Now my vision is becoming a reality and I am convinced that grasspaper will have a measurable impact soon.”

About Ranpak

Founded in 1972, Ranpak's goal was to create the first environmentally responsible system to protect products during shipment. Ranpak’s mission is to deliver sustainable packaging solutions that help improve supply chain performance and costs, reduce environmental impact, and support a variety of growing business needs globally. The development and improvement of materials, systems and total solution concepts have earned Ranpak a reputation as an innovative leader in e-commerce and industrial supply chain solutions. Ranpak is headquartered in Concord Township, Ohio and has approximately 800 employees. Additional information about Ranpak can be found on its website: https://www.ranpak.com.

About Creapaper

Creapaper GmbH, based in Hennef, Germany, uses a patented process to produce an alternative raw material for the paper and packaging industry that can be used in paper production instead of cellulose pulp made from wood or waste paper. Significant savings in CO₂ emissions and water consumption can be achieved with Creapaper grass paper products. Creapaper has already received several awards for its innovative and sustainable products, including the IKU Innovation Award Climate and Environment 2018, the Top 100 Europe Award, the Red Herring Award North America in June 2019. Creapaper has won the EU Horizon 20/20 program in 2018 and is among the 7 German companies that won the EU-EIC Accelerator program 2020 with 4,223 participants from all over Europe.