Ingka Investments, the investment arm of largest Ikea retailer Ingka Group, has injected capital into Chinese recycler Re-mall.
Re-mall specialises in recycling post-consumer packaging waste, using a proprietary technique and process to produce transparent recycled polypropylene – or rPP, for short – for use in new products.
Contamination from food residues and labels, quality degradation of the material across recycling cycles, high processing costs, and volatile market demand for recycled plastics are among the issues the recycling industry is faced with in 2025, but Re-mall is working to change the narrative.
According to Ingka Investments, the Chinese recycler is recognised for producing “premium-grade post-consumer recycled polypropylene driven by technology and innovation, and is actively exploring, and building, high-quality closed-loop solutions with their value chain partners”.
The investment firm also said Re-mall is one of the only global suppliers producing “highly transparent pellets from post-consumer food packaging waste at scale”. This processed material is used to make new products such as storage boxes and containers, tableware, toys, cosmetics packaging, and woven textile products – all items sold by major blue chip companies.
It is the first Chinese investment for Ingka Investments as part of its ‘circular investment’ portfolio, which was established in 2017. China is one of the largest plastic markets in the world and finding ways to tackle waste in the country is viewed as pivotal in supporting global progress in this space.
Lukas Visser, head of circular investments at Ingka Group (pictured below), commented: “Re-mall’s strong supplier network and partnerships with leading Chinese food delivery service providers are already allowing them to create impact at scale for the local recycling market.
“By investing in Re-mall, we want to amplify this impact to help address a global plastic waste problem and contribute to the circular economy transition.”
Pontus Erntell, president & chief sustainability officer at Ikea China, added: “This investment by Ingka Investments demonstrates our long-term commitment in China. To meet our customers’ needs for generations to come, we have both the responsibility and the opportunity to take a lead in accelerating the circular economy beyond Ikea, and the scale and innovation capabilities here in the Chinese market create significant opportunities for this transformation.”
Re-mall is headquartered in Shanghai, and operates a production facility in Jiangxi province, allowing for access to plastic waste streams from large cities such as Guangzhou and Shanghai, both in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta economic zones. The investment is expected to be directed towards Re-mall increasing its recycling capacity and developing new products.
Zhu Kuan, CEO of Re-mall, remarked: “This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our journey to scale sustainable solutions globally.
“Together, we aim to transform plastic waste into valuable resources, contributing to a cleaner planet and a more responsible future.”
Ingka’s investment in the Chinese recycler complements its existing minority holding in Morssinkhof Rymoplast, a European plastics recycling company.
[image credits: Ingka Group]
