Aussie sustainable packaging firm Great Wrap collapses with $39m debt

Great Wrap, a material science company based in Melbourne, has entered voluntary administration with reported debts of US$39 million.

Administrators were appointed on September 17, 2025, according to notices from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Founded by Jordy and Julia Kay in 2019, Great Wrap produced compostable stretch wrap for businesses and homes.

The company announced it would support administrators through the process of selling equipment and materials.

Staff have reportedly been let go, and the company is facing efforts to repay creditors.

Great Wrap previously raised US$24 million in July 2022 and launched a compostable pallet wrap in 2023.

🔗 Source: SmartCompany

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Brent Morgan and Shane Cremin of Rodgers Reidy (an insolvency and restructuring firm) took control of Plantabl Packaging Proprietary Limited (Pty Ltd) on 17 September 2025 1. The Tullamarine (Melbourne) site shut, and all five employees were made redundant under voluntary administration 1. Debt totals AU$39 million; AU$8.5 million is owed to secured creditor De Lage Landen (an equipment finance lender); AU$2.5 million to non-related unsecured creditors; more than AU$28 million to related-party creditors 1. Staff are owed about AU$104,000 in wages, superannuation (retirement savings) and leave entitlements 1.
AU Manufacturing cited a Herald Sun report that put cumulative losses at $26.2 million since 2019; the company never made a profit 2. Administrators said the plant and equipment were built for forecast demand that did not arrive; a shift to recycled-content materials would need fresh capital that is not viable under current constraints 1.
A second creditors’ meeting is set for October 21, 2025; liquidation looks likely 1.

Great Wrap co-founder Jordy Kay said Australian retailers and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies now run their own plastic recycling set-ups (owning and operating in-house recycling infrastructure) 3. Cleanaway offers soft plastics collection for businesses 3. Services cover pallet wrap and shrink film with customized bins and flexible pickup schedules 3.
Tech vendors can deliver tracking software for take-back programs 3. They can build reverse logistics platforms (moving used packaging from stores and warehouses back to processing sites) and quality control systems 3. Investors can back companies that enable closed-loop supply chains (where materials are collected, reprocessed and remanufactured into new products) 3. Clear retail wrap yields higher-quality feedstock when kept uncontaminated 3.