Through New Collaboration With Lemon Jelly, Balena Is Spearheading The Fashion Circular Revolution

At Raw Ventures, we are proud to share a significant milestone from one of our portfolio companies, Balena. The material science company has teamed up with the renowned Portuguese footwear brand Lemon Jelly to launch the Nyssa Bag — a limited-edition handbag crafted entirely from Balena’s groundbreaking and compostable BioCir® Flex material. 

This collaboration not only represents Balena’s first successful commercial product launch but also marks a transformative step toward making circular fashion mainstream.

What is the Nyssa Bag?

Designed with both performance and sustainability at its core, the bag is crafted from BioCir® Flex, a cutting-edge biomaterial developed by Balena. 

This biobased, flexible, and durable material ensures the bag is industrially compostable or recyclable, embodying true circularity without requiring shoppers to sacrifice comfort, durability, or style.

“With the Nyssa Bag, we’re introducing BioCir® Flex as a material that not only supports circularity but is also built to be functional and durable for everyday use. This isn’t just about creating a product that’s compostable or recyclable; it’s about bringing biomaterial innovation into the world of luxury and high-performance products, making sustainable choices accessible without compromising on quality or durability,” – said David Roubach, founder and CEO of Balena. 

The bag is available in two striking colours — deep black and amber yellow — with a sleek matte finish. Balena crafted this product to withstand the rigours of daily life, and as it nears the end of its lifecycle, individuals can return the bag to Lemon Jelly for recycling or send it to an industrial composting facility. This ensures there is no waste — a pillar of the circular economy. 

BioCir® Flex: Science Meets Sustainability

Balena’s brainchild BioCir® Flex represents a breakthrough in material science, masterfully blending performance, sustainability, and scalability. 

To begin with, it is derived from renewable sources like castor beans and natural oils, reducing reliance on petroleum-based plastics without compromising quality. Additionally, as mentioned, the material is engineered for a full lifecycle, ensuring the Nyssa Bag can either be composted or recycled, generating zero waste. 

Its durability is exceptional, as it combines the flexibility of rubber with the resilience of TPU. Last but not least, BioCir® Flex integrates seamlessly into existing production processes, including injection moulding and extrusion. This makes it easier for it to be adopted by other industries. 

A Strategic Collaboration

This partnership with Lemon Jelly underscores the shared commitment of both brands to redefine fashion through sustainability. It is a partnership that Raw Ventures is thrilled to be a part of as an investor in Balena. 

Maria Zherebtsova, our Investment Director, notes, “As Balena and Lemon Jelly set a new standard for circular fashion and pave the way for biomaterial innovations to take centre stage in the luxury market, we celebrate Balena’s success and look forward to seeing how their innovations keep shaping the future of sustainable industries. At Raw Ventures, we’re thrilled to support their journey every step of the way and be a critical part of it.”