Materials grown from what farming leaves behind.
NEEMA Labs develops plastic-free, biodegradable materials from prickly pear cactus waste — in partnership with local farmers, for fashion, packaging and agriculture.
A bio-based platform, built from agricultural waste
Our first material, VELO, is an Opuntia (prickly pear) based biofilm — a durable, workable sheet made without synthetic polymers. It starts as trimmings left over from cactus farming and becomes a material designed to replace conventional, petroleum-based options.
Collect
We partner with local farmers to collect waste trimmings from prickly pear farming.
Extract
Trimmings are sorted and the useful natural ingredients are extracted.
Process
Natural additives are combined and processed into a durable, sheet-form material.
Fashion
A leather alternative for bags, accessories and footwear.
Packaging
Bio-based, lower-impact alternatives to plastic packaging.
Agriculture
Sustainable material solutions developed with sector partners.
Projects
Two publicly funded projects, run with universities and industry partners — one advancing the material science, the other taking it to market.
BIOLEA
Fundamental development and validation of a fully bio-based leather alternative from Opuntia cladode trimmings — investigating formulation, structure–property relationships, durability and biodegradability, with life-cycle assessment underway.
VELO
Translating the biofilm into a market-ready material and brand for fashion and design — application definition, MVP development, pilot production, certification pathways and validation with early adopters.
Where we are
Validated in the lab
The material is proven at lab scale (TRL 4).
Pilot production
Scaling formulations and validating with first partners.
In the news
Top 10 — NBG Business Seeds
Selected among the top 10 of the 16th Innovation & Technology Competition by NBG Business Seeds.
Partnership with Costas Theodorou Ltd
Entered an official partnership with Costas Theodorou Ltd to support development and scale-up.
Certified Innovative SME
Recognised as an Innovative SME by the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy (valid through 2028).
New lab in Nicosia
Moved into a dedicated new laboratory space in Nicosia to expand R&D capacity.
Startups4Peace winner & Slush 2024
Won the Startups4Peace 2024 competition and represented NEEMA Labs at Slush 2024 in Helsinki.
Third prize — C4E, University of Cyprus
Awarded third prize at the C4E Innovation & Entrepreneurship competition at the University of Cyprus.
Let’s work together
Brands, manufacturers, researchers and investors — we’d like to hear from you.
Contact us