Bioplastics are created using renewable raw materials such as maize, corn, rapeseed or soy, whose oils are then harvested and converted into thermoplastic polymers.

XPO Innovate marketing manager Jo Haigh said that the 20-staff firm had picked up contracts worth £1.5m in the past four months thanks to its environmental push.

These include work for brands such as glasses manufacturer Foster Grant, photography firm Venture, Standard Fireworks, clothing firm Nicholas Deakins and baby products company Tommee Tippee.

Haigh said: “From the start, we understood that business was starting to develop an environmental conscience. The current testing of bioplastics for use in the PoS display sector is XPO Innovate’s next natural step.”

She said that the 3mm-thick substrates, which are produced by an unnamed plastic extrusion firm in the UK, were able to do the same job as corrugate or metal alternatives but were cheaper.

She added: “Approximately 70% of the corrugate used in the PoS sector does not come from sustainable resources.

“If this is successful it will have a considerable impact on the display sector and in retailing in general.”