We’re thrilled to announce that COPAR Smart Packaging has been awarded the 2025 Best Emerging Business Award, proudly presented by Australian Owned!

As a community of certified Australian businesses, it’s moments like these that remind us of the innovation, resilience, and commitment that define the Australian business landscape. COPAR’s story is one of local ingenuity, sustainability, and a bold determination to create a better future for packaging and for the planet.

Launching a packaging business in a sector dominated by imports was never going to be easy. COPAR’s founders faced complex challenges from day one. From sourcing sustainable raw materials to ensuring imported machinery met strict Australian compliance standards.

Instead of defaulting to offshore suppliers, the team made a deliberate choice: to centre the business around Australian inputs, partnerships, and talent. That includes a future pipeline using locally sourced agro fibre, investing in local engineering talent, working with local pulp processors, and collaborating with Australian packaging technologists to bring innovation home.

“Being Australian-owned is more than a status — it’s a lens through which we make every decision.”

A standout achievement is COPAR’s development of Agro fibre Packaging designed and engineered locally and HyperBarrier™ — a high-barrier, recyclable paper-based solution that matches the performance needs of food-grade packaging: oxygen resistance, grease-proofing, and moisture control — all without plastic laminates.

Paired with their SmartServe™ FSC® certified paper cutlery (developed in partnership with COMBIO) and compostable agro fibre trays, COPAR’s portfolio is built around high-performance alternatives for real-world packaging needs — across foodservice, ready meals, produce, and meat.

COPAR has seamlessly integrated their Australian Owned certification into every part of their brand story. From pitch decks to social media, from internal staff training to trade show campaigns, the AO logo stands as a badge of credibility, local trust, and high manufacturing standards.

“Our customers know we’re not just making sustainable packaging, we’re making Australian sustainable packaging."

COPAR’s commitment extends beyond packaging into community and environmental education. Through its partnership with Sustainability for Kids, the brand launched Compost Ben, an illustrated character featured in The World Behind Compost — a children’s book teaching the value of composting and circular packaging.

The team is also planning community education events in collaboration with local councils to engage children, parents, and educators in hands-on learning around composting, packaging, and sustainability — building grassroots awareness for long-term impact.

This win isn’t just about COPAR, it’s about what’s possible when Australian businesses put local first, lead with purpose, and use certification as a platform to grow responsibly. COPAR is building the only pulp molded manufacturing capability of its kind in Australia, and they’re doing it with a laser focus on Australian people, processes, and potential.

Congratulations to the entire COPAR team! Your journey is an inspiration to emerging businesses across the country and a shining example of what the Australian Owned community is all about.

AO#08247 www.copar.eco