About Lean Orb
A compostable food packaging company
whose mission is to eliminate all single-use plastic waste
and offer safe, plant-based packaging.
Our Story
Growing up in Russia, Anastasia Mikhalochkina was connected to nature from an early age. Her childhood summers were spent in a country house with grandmother who taught her the importance of simplicity and peaceful coexistence with the environment. There, while hiking and exploring the natural world, she inherited some undeniable wisdom which made her think about human consumption habits and plastic pollution we are responsible for on a personal and corporate level. Anastasia founded Lean Orb in May of 2017. A compostable food packaging company whose mission is to eliminate all single-use plastic waste and offer safe, plant-based packaging.
Words From The Founder
“They say that eventually all dots connect. My whole life I was passionate about water and then in my early 30’s I discovered surfing. For those who have not experienced this sport, surfing is meditative, peaceful, and deeply grounding. Spending hours on water, one naturally becomes an ocean steward. We see plastic pollution and the impact upon the marine ecosystem first hand. That experience reaffirmed that Lean Orb was on the right path and that my work mattered.”
Our Promise
• REMOVE PLASTIC
Disposable plastics often do not make it to a landfill or are recycled. A full 32% of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced annually is left to flow into our oceans; the equivalent of pouring one garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute.
• EDUCATE
While Lean Orb’s expertise is in product development, the team’s ambitious goals for environmental progress goes beyond sustainable product solutions. Much of the team’s attention is focused on raising awareness and educating the corporate sector on the responsible reduction of the overall packaging waste. We hope our local government will help us create more financial incentives for businesses who are looking to shift away from plastic and take greater responsibility for the GHG emissions related to waste.
• REDUCE WASTE
Although closing the loop of waste presents many challenges, we strive to design products for the industrial compost sites. Currently, there is a scarcity in our community so we hope to see more strategic planning done on the local government level.
• BRING WAVES OF CHANGE
Armed with great people and years of experience as a product designer working with our environment, corporations, and community, I am hoping to help Miami form into an environmentally responsible hub for the US and for Latin America. Environmental crisis is too big for one company, one politician or one individual to solve but together we can shift the tide.
Our History
Since its launch in 2017 by the founder and CEO Anastasia Mikhalochkina, Lean Orb has been able to design a complete portfolio of products based on various fiber technologies. The company’s headquarters is currently at the Cambridge Innovation Center which is a known hub for many cutting-edge start-ups.
In 2019, the company was recognized by multiple media channels, like NBC and the Miami Herald, after becoming one of the finalists at Babson College’s accelerator WIN Lab, which stands for Women Innovating Now. Since then we received great support from the business community. Today our partnerships include Miami Chamber of Commerce, Ocean Conservation Groups such as Surfrider Foundation, Miami Greater & The Beaches Hotel Association.
Lean Orb was also endorsed as a preferred packaging vendor by Ultra Festival in 2019. With million tickets sold each year, the festival group has a significant social impact on the younger generation and environmental impact on our ecosystem by helping the festival team eliminate millions of plastic units and offer compostable alternatives instead.
our COMMUNITY
We are focused on products that support both human needs for having food on the go and the environmental stability affected by processes. Our community’s response to the mission behind our products is how we know that social and environmental innovation is here to stay. Therefore, our products will always be as good as our people.
OCEAN DEFENDER
Mike Gibaldi
The Surfrider Foundation
#communitypartner
SITE DIRECTOR
Maria Dominguez ,
Cambridge Innovation Center
#client
RESTAURATEUR
Patricia Olsen,
Under The Mango Tree
#client
YOUTH ACTIVIST
Kevin Malaekeh,
Youth Climate Action Coalition
#communitypartner
Our pursuit of sustainability
is rooted in optimism.
Most days we focus 100% of our energy to delivery intelligent, sustainable and empowering alternatives to plastic. The other 100% is spent to build awareness and activism around plastic pollution.
Anastasia Mikhalochkina
CEO, Founder
Anastasia loves building valuable products at the intersection of technology and sustainability. She manages most of day to day, producing our products, words and ideas.
Javier R Gutierrez
Finance
Javier provides guidance on the company's policies and procedures related to financial matters, making sure all the numbers go in the right buckets.
Mariella Echeverri
Sales Manager
Mariella has been passionate about solving single-use plastic crisis ever since she launched her first eco restaurant in Majorca, Spain. Since then she made it her mission to inspire more businesses such as hers to transition to compostable packaging.
Jose Medina
Advisory
Jose is a Principal at Miami’s Cambridge Innovation Center. He is sharpening the overall vision and helps us connect with the community. A perfectionist at heart and a proud vegan.
Caroline Ronveaux
Executive Assistant
Caroline is currently studying Marine Biology. She is passionate about spending time on water and helping communities reduce waste.
Explore Our Community Partners
Proudly working alongside ocean conservation groups, environmentalists, educational institutions and nature activists. Discover how to volunteer, donate and help their local causes.
Learn more