Reading startup develops biodegradable straws through Berks LaunchBox

Coasty, the retail brand of Reading-based World Brand, an eco-friendly restaurant supply company, is getting their first opportunity to market their biodegradable straws directly to consumers.

The straws are currently available in restaurants and will now be tested at 10 Pennsylvania Redner’s Warehouse Market supermarket locations.

According to the World Brand company, founded in 2018 by Reading natives Shanna Henry and Petros Pappalas, Coasty paper straws are dye-free, biodegradable straws that they say are five times stronger than most paper straws on the market today.

The straws are designed to biodegrade in nature within weeks and are non-toxic.

In July 2019, Henry and Pappalas started working in the free, coworking space at the Penn State Berks LaunchBox, the entrepreneurial center of Penn State Berks within the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in downtown Reading. The pair decided to work with LaunchBox so that they could benefit from working around other entrepreneurs and receive mentoring, networking and support, they said.

“Working in the Berks LaunchBox coworking space has brought Shanna and me back to Reading to start our business … ,” said Pappala, CEO of Coasty. “We love the professional atmosphere, meeting space, free rent, and having other entrepreneurs to brainstorm ideas. The LaunchBox help has been a big boost to moving our company forward.”