We had a fantastic time at the Pharmacy Show, meeting so many inspiring people and reconnecting with familiar faces. A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello. It was wonderful to hear your stories and share our own.
Our sales team had a fantastic few days on the floor, connecting with
so many people and sharing
our mission.
“There were really productive conversations had from pharmacies, pharmacists, and those innovating
in healthcare. It was great to see existing clients and prospective
new clients thinking towards
the future.”
We loved speaking with everyone about our packaging and showing how easy it can be to make the switch to sustainable solutions that improve performance, efficiency, and care for our planet. Your enthusiasm and curiosity reminded us why we do what we do.
Our CEO, Josie Morris, took to the stage to share Woolcool’s journey and key learnings from inventing and driving sustainability through nature’s smart fibre technology. Her presentation highlighted how, by harnessing natural materials, we have pioneered change in the industry over the past two decades, as well as sharing the challenges we have come across, but the benefits that these have turned into.
Looking back on our journey so far
In 2002, Angela Morris, founder, developed a wool-insulated box for National Trust farmers to deliver fresh food. After the project, she received new enquiries from word-of-mouth referrals. From this, Woolcool was born and won the Observer Food Monthly Award for Best Innovation and was a finalist in the Green Awards. We then collaborated with some of the UK's top Universities, and received Innovate UK funding to understand more about wool, the science behind its characteristics and how it performs. From 2014, Woolcool opened our first manufacturing operation, which led to an expansion to a new manufacturing site, where we were awarded The Queen's Awards For Enterprise in Innovation, and a Royal visit by HRH Prince of Wales (now HM The King) to celebrate Woolcool's 10th Anniversary. Expansion into a new production facility providing plenty of scope for the future, and a second Queen's Award for sustainability soon followed. Our FreightGuardian brand was launched in 2024, and CEO Josie Morris MBE received a lifetime achievement award. Woolcool was invited to COP28 and re-certified as a B-Corp.
Our journey isn’t just relevant to packaging; it applies to any company looking to continuously improve and drive their sector forward, and what they can do to lead the charge. We look at the materials and processes we use, and their supply chains from the beginning to the end of life. We invest in our people so they have the opportunity to develop our products, brands, and business. We invest in our community and carefully consider the impact of our actions, working to align with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. All of this, in turn, helps to drive genuine, long-term innovation to stay ahead of the curve.
Driving Innovation
The challenges we’ve faced over the past two decades include not accepting the status quo, proving the value of natural materials, navigating evolving trends in sustainability, managing competitors and market price points, and maintaining quality and consistency through strict ISO standards.
The benefits of pioneering change are clear: staying ahead of trends, transforming sectors, and the satisfaction of making a meaningful difference. Using business as a force for good and leaving a lasting legacy are at the heart of what we do. We have focused on developing solutions to current challenges like plastic use and carbon footprint, and future-proof against deforestation, water usage, and biodiversity loss. Through all of this, patience is essential, as transformative change often requires sustained effort and perseverance.
We are constantly refining, improving, and investing in research and development. Over the last decade, we have invested millions of pounds in scientific testing to back up our innovations. We do this so that we always have the knowledge to develop our packaging, and as pioneers, we want to lead the flock. That same spirit of creativity drives us forward: when it comes to temperature-controlled packaging, wool is the natural answer to a global problem, outperforming polystyrene, other manmade materials, and paper alternatives.
Sustainability doesn’t mean sacrificing performance or commercial viability. Wool is natural, renewable and abundant - it is also compostable, reusable and recyclable. Wool can reduce or even eliminate the need for temperature-controlled vehicles, lower delivery weights, and reduce the number of overall deliveries due to its superior performance. We provide optimised, tailored solutions that improve efficiency across your supply chain.
In a sector evolving rapidly, our message is clear: innovation, creative thinking, and open-mindedness are vital for future-proofing and business sustainability. We focus on developing our solutions not just to address the trends or current shorter-term challenges, such as plastic and carbon footprint, but to future-proof for the challenges to come, such as deforestation, water usage and biodiversity. At the core of all of these ideas is our belief that natural materials are best, and that we must find a way to address the real and urgent global packaging issue that faces society - the need to develop packaging that is environmentally and socially responsible yet economically viable.
Sustainability isn’t a single step – it’s a journey.
It can save money, improve customer perception, and enhance performance. We have proven that through education, a focused vision, true values, and clear direction, a sector can be transformed, raising the bar for everyone. History and evolution have shown that nature knows best, and Woolcool is proud to lead the way.
Visiting the Pharmacy Show was truly inspiring. We loved speaking with so many of you about our packaging and sharing how easy it can be to make the switch to sustainable solutions that improve performance, efficiency, and care for our planet. Your enthusiasm and curiosity reminded us why we do what we do – thank you for being part of our journey.
