A plant-based sachet developed by two young Ugandan entrepreneurs could dramatically cut post-harvest food loss, improve farmer incomes, and support global sustainability goals.
Tackling a Problem Rooted in Waste and Inequality
Every year, more than 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted worldwide, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. Much of this loss occurs before food even reaches consumers. For smallholder farmers in countries like Uganda, rapid fruit spoilage during transport and storage often leads to devastating losses and missed income. At the same time, hundreds of millions of people remain food insecure, creating a stark global imbalance between surplus and scarcity.
First-Hand Experience of the Inventors
One of the main drivers behind the invention came from the co-founders’ own lived experience. Both Sandra Namboozo and Samuel Muyita grew up in farming families and saw how often fresh produce would spoil before reaching market, largely due to a lack of refrigeration and poor infrastructure. That direct exposure to post-harvest loss led them to develop the simple (but science-led) solution of a small sachet that sits inside fruit crates and gradually releases natural plant compounds to slow spoilage and extend shelf life
Karpolax
Karpolax, Sandra Namboozo and Samuel Muyita’s company, based in Kampala, Uganda, was founded in 2020. The company’s core product is the biodegradable sachet that extends the shelf life of fruit by up to 30 days.
How Does The Sachet Work?
Rather than using synthetic preservatives, the sachet contains natural volatile organic compounds (VOCs) extracted from plants such as cloves, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and wintergreen.
These compounds are gradually released during storage and transport, forming a protective atmosphere inside packaging boxes. The vapours inhibit ethylene production (a key trigger for ripening) and suppress the enzyme phospholipase D, which contributes to cellular breakdown in fruit. The sachets also have antimicrobial properties, reducing mould and bacterial contamination without refrigeration.
Tripled The Shelf Life
In a pilot with Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organisation, mangoes stored with Karpolax sachets stayed fresh for 33 days, which is triple the 11-day shelf life of untreated fruit. The company has since tested the product on bananas, apples and oranges, and is developing new variants for pineapples, berries and peppers.
Recognised Innovation With a Social Mission
Karpolax was recently named a top-10 innovator in the European Patent Office’s 2025 Young Inventors Prize, recognised under the “Community Healers” category. The award celebrates under-30 inventors using technology to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The company has already supplied over 100 farmers, 250 market vendors and 20 produce exporters in Uganda. Expansion is also planned across East Africa, including to Kenya and Rwanda, where post-harvest losses are similarly high. According to the UN, up to 45 per cent of fruit and vegetables perish before sale in sub-Saharan Africa due to a lack of cold storage and poor market access.
“Our goal was never just to invent something,” said Namboozo. “It was to make science work for the communities we come from.”
Potential Impact on Global Supply Chains
Although Karpolax was created with low-resource regions in mind, its relevance extends far beyond Uganda. For example, the World Bank estimates that halving food loss could feed an additional one billion people. It could also significantly reduce emissions, as food waste contributes 8–10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The sachets offer a low-cost, non-electric alternative to cold storage, which is often unaffordable or unavailable in rural areas. However, they may also appeal to exporters, wholesalers, and large retailers in wealthier markets. With growing pressure to meet ESG targets and reduce environmental impact, businesses in the UK and EU could benefit from solutions like Karpolax, especially those sourcing tropical fruits from African or Asian suppliers.
For example, large-scale importers or distributors could use the sachets during long-haul shipping, improving quality at arrival and reducing wastage costs. NGOs and agribusinesses working in sustainable development or supply chain resilience may also view the technology as a practical tool for smallholder empowerment.
Not Without Challenges
Despite its promise, Karpolax faces several hurdles. Like many start-ups in developing countries, access to funding is limited. Muyita has highlighted how early-stage support came from university mentors and competitions. Scaling manufacturing capacity and meeting regulatory standards in export markets will require further investment and strategic partnerships.
There is also a need for independent third-party verification of long-term results, especially under varying climatic and logistical conditions. While internal trials and national pilots show strong early outcomes, widespread adoption may hinge on building trust with new stakeholders, both in Africa and abroad.
Another challenge lies in market education. For example, many smallholder farmers and informal traders are unfamiliar with post-harvest tech, so uptake may depend on targeted awareness campaigns and training support.
A Broader Movement Toward Natural Preservation
It should be noted, however, that Karpolax is not alone in this space. For example, in India, a start-up called GreenPod Labs has developed a similar solution using plant-derived sachets that release active compounds to slow ripening. Their product is aimed at Indian fruits such as guava and papaya and also targets farm-to-market spoilage. Meanwhile, scientists at the University of Guelph in Canada have been exploring natural VOC coatings to prolong shelf life of berries and tomatoes.
Other approaches to reducing spoilage include smart packaging, such as labels that change colour when fruit begins to spoil, or biodegradable wraps that mimic the protective qualities of natural peels. However, many of these are still in R&D phases or face high production costs, limiting access in developing regions.
What sets Karpolax apart is its grounding in local knowledge, use of indigenous plant chemistry, and low-cost manufacturing. One key advantage of the sachets is that they don’t require any behavioural change from farmers, i.e. they simply sit in the box and do their job.
Good for Farmers, Businesses and the Planet
For smallholder farmers, especially in Uganda, the benefits are likely to be immediate. For example, by reducing post-harvest loss, farmers gain more time to sell, access better prices, and reinvest in their operations. This is particularly meaningful for women and young people, who make up a large share of the agricultural workforce in the region.
For businesses, the sachets offer a scalable and environmentally sound solution to the long-standing logistical problem of keeping produce fresh in transit. As climate change brings more volatility to food systems, supply chain resilience is becoming a higher priority for food companies and retailers.
Also, for sustainability goals, Karpolax supports several core UN targets, not just Zero Hunger and Responsible Consumption, but also Climate Action and Decent Work. It could, therefore, be described as a case of locally developed, science-based innovation with global relevance.
What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?
Karpolax’s innovation arrives at a time when both the environmental and economic costs of food waste are under closer scrutiny. A simple, passive preservation tool that extends shelf life by weeks rather than days offers a clear advantage not just in Uganda but across global supply chains. For growers, especially in regions without reliable refrigeration, it means less spoilage and more time to secure better prices. For exporters and logistics firms, it introduces a low-tech, low-cost buffer against delays, contamination and inconsistent storage conditions.
UK businesses operating in import, retail or agri-tech should also take note. As ESG pressures rise and the need for traceable, responsible sourcing grows, solutions like this provide a tangible opportunity to partner with early-stage but high-potential sustainability innovators. Whether as part of ethical sourcing strategies, international aid-linked supply chains, or fresh produce logistics, the commercial use cases are growing. There is also a reputational advantage in being aligned with technologies that promote climate resilience, zero waste and smallholder empowerment.
Still, longer-term success depends on scale, regulation, and proof. Karpolax will need to show that the technology remains effective under broader commercial conditions and that its cost advantage is maintained as production ramps up. The market is also competitive, with similar plant-based sachets and smart packaging tools under development elsewhere. What may give Karpolax an edge is its grounding in real-world problems, its use of local plant chemistry, and its focus on ease of use in resource-limited settings.
For sustainability advocates, this is one of the more promising types of innovation, i.e., low-cost, scalable, and directly aligned with everyday challenges. For farmers, it offers a rare form of control over a process they have often been excluded from. For wider industry, it’s a reminder that some of the most practical solutions may not come from labs in the Global North, but from the people who live and work at the heart of the problem.