Cirkla’s US$5M Georgia plant targets poultry packaging with fiber-based trays as bamboo, sugarcane replace styrofoam

USA – Cirkla, a sustainable food packaging company rooted in India, has announced a US$5 million investment to establish a 66,960-square-foot facility in Gainesville, Georgia, creating 140 jobs over three years as it scales its fiber-based tray technology for the U.S. poultry and protein packaging market.

The company produces sturdy trays for proteins from a blend of fibers including bamboo and sugarcane byproducts, pressed into a mold and lined using a patented lamination process .

The new facility, located in the Gainesville 85 Business Center, adds to a cluster of international companies offering machinery and processing equipment for the poultry sector in Hall County, the self-proclaimed “poultry capital of the world.” 

Technology and Market Positioning

Cirkla’s trays can replace styrofoam and plastic without loss of performance and can be dropped into factories’ existing production lines without additional investment. 

In states that charge Extended Producer Responsibility fees for plastic packaging, Cirkla says its modified atmosphere packaging and overwrap trays, which can also be used for prepared meals, produce and more, are already cheaper than plastic. 

The company’s manufacturing in India runs at scale and has validated the technology in real production environments across some of the most demanding protein categories, according to CEO Vaibhav Goel. 

Cirkla raised US$3 million in a pre-seed round in 2023, projecting at the time that the global market for sustainable packaging could reach US$500 billion by 2030.

Gainesville Inland Port and Strategic Location

The announcement comes months after the Georgia Ports Authority opened the Gainesville Inland Port in May, giving exporters direct access to the Port of Savannah, while allowing importers to bring in materials via a 324-mile Norfolk Southern rail link. 

The new port facility, the third of its kind in Georgia, allows containers to be placed immediately on trains and processed closer to their destination, reducing congestion and transportation costs. 

Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tim Evans stated that as the Poultry Capital of the World and home to one of America’s strongest concentrations of food manufacturers, the ecosystem provides the customers, workforce, and industry partnerships that innovative companies like Cirkla need to succeed. 

While the company lists a Delaware headquarters, its founders branched out after running Asia-Pacific expansion for Zume, another packaging firm based in Silicon Valley with operations in 25 Asian countries. 

The facility brings the company’s validated technology closer to U.S. customers, built for the national rollouts ahead.

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