Story highlights
Biomedical engineer David Edwards has invented fully edible packaging called Wikipearl
Real foodstuff is combined with calcium ions to wipe out the need for plastic wrapping
Wikipearl ice cream and yoghurt were launched in selected Paris stores last June
He’s invented breathable food, flavor clouds and olfactory telephones. Now David Edwards is bringing edible food-packaging to the table.
Called Wikipearl, the wrapping is held together by calcium ions and can include particles of chocolate, nuts and seeds. The idea came out of a conversation Edwards, professor of biomedical engineering at Harvard, had with a sculptor about the concept of tensegrity.
“It’s a really interesting property and relevant in terms of rethinking our packaging,” he says. “Suddenly packaging becomes part of the culinary experience.” Wikipearl ice cream and yoghurt were launched in selected Paris stores last June.
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Edwards began as a biomedical engineer in universities including MIT and Penn State. He left the latter in 1998 after he came up with the idea for inhalable insulin and was approached by Polaris Venture Partners to start a company, Advanced Inhalation Research, with three friends from MIT. It was sold in 1999 to biopharma company Alkermes.