Ingka Group Enters China’s Circular Economy with First Investment in Plastic Recycler Re-mall

Photo Credit: Ingka Group

According to an official announcement, Ingka Investments—the investment arm of Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer globally—has made a growth capital investment in Re-mall (Shanghai Re-mall Environmental Protection New Material Co., Ltd.), a Shanghai-based recycler specializing in post-consumer packaging waste. The company uses proprietary technology to produce transparent recycled polypropylene (rPP) for applications in new consumer products.

Industry sources note that the plastic recycling sector faces long-standing challenges, including contamination from food residues and labels, quality loss over multiple recycling cycles, high processing costs, and volatile demand for recycled plastics. These issues have hindered large-scale adoption of recycled materials.

According to Re-mall’s website, the company is recognized within China for producing premium-grade post-consumer rPP driven by technology and innovation. It is reportedly among the few global suppliers capable of producing highly transparent pellets from post-consumer food packaging waste at scale. These materials are already being used in products such as storage containers, tableware, toys, cosmetics packaging, and woven textiles. The company’s client base includes multiple blue-chip brands.

Ingka Group stated that this investment forms part of its broader strategy to accelerate the transition toward a circular economy by backing companies that develop innovative technologies or expand recycling capacity to reduce waste and increase the supply of recycled materials. This marks Ingka Investments’ first circular economy investment in China—a country regarded as one of the largest plastic markets worldwide and a key player in tackling global waste challenges.

Lukas Visser, Head of Circular Investments at Ingka Group, was quoted as saying that Re-mall’s strong supplier network and partnerships with leading Chinese food delivery service providers are already creating large-scale impact in the local recycling market. “By investing in Re-mall, we want to amplify this impact to address the global plastic waste problem and contribute to the circular economy transition,” he said.

Pontus Erntell, President & Chief Sustainability Officer at IKEA China, emphasized that the move reflects Ingka’s long-term commitment to 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,” he noted.

Headquartered in Shanghai, Re-mall operates a production facility in Jiangxi province, strategically positioned to source plastic waste from major urban centers such as Guangzhou and Shanghai, within both the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta economic zones. According to the company, the new funding will be used to expand recycling capacity and develop new product applications.

Re-mall CEO Zhu Kuan said in a statement that partnering with Ingka Investments represents “a significant milestone” in the company’s mission to accelerate the circular economy in plastics. “Together, we aim to transform plastic waste into valuable resources, contributing to a cleaner planet and a more responsible future,” he added.

Source: Ingka Group