Turning the tide on plastic: The UEA student start-up transforming pregnancy testing with seaweed
By: Communications
A student at the University of East Anglia (UEA) hopes to create a 100% plastic-free pregnancy test, to tackle the environmental impact of millions of single-use tests discarded each year.
Penelope Helbest, who is currently studying on the MA Creative Writing programme, has created Kelpy: an eco-friendly sexual wellness company centred on biodegradable pregnancy tests made from seaweed-based material.
Kelpy’s proposed innovation aims to offer a plastic-free alternative in the future, reducing landfill waste and supporting ocean conservation.
This venture has been supported by UEA Student Enterprise, which helps UEA students and graduates turn their aspirations into business realities, and saw Penelope secure the top £2,000 award in its 2026 Change Makers competition to help develop her business further.
Penelope, who is from Cambridge, said: “Fifteen million pregnancy tests are discarded into landfill each year in the UK – for now I can aim at reducing how many of them are plastic. Maybe one day, none of them will be. I hope Kelpy causes ripples in the industry, even beyond pregnancy diagnostics.”
The start-up idea takes its name from the seaweed-based material at the heart of the idea, which Penelope said quickly became central to the concept after ruling out other kinds of bioplastic: “Norfolk has a lot going on to do with seaweed farming – I’d love to be able to source everything here. As an East Anglian, I want to keep things local. It’s easy to farm and not as carbon intensive as other methods, so I believe it would be a good burgeoning industry to help along.”
UEA Change Makers 2026 winner: “It’s a massive confidence boost”
While Kelpy is currently in the early stages of development, the concept has already gained recognition for its potential environmental and social impact.
Developed during the UEA Change Makers 2026 accelerator – an 11-week programme run by UEA Student Enterprise to support students – Penelope went on to win the top prize of £2,000, designed to support the further development of her business venture.
Norwich Business School student Zeya McKay won the People’s Choice award, resulting in a prize of £500 for YoungVisionArt: a platform dedicated to showcasing and supporting emerging student artists.
Reflecting on her win, she said: “It means it isn't just a pipedream, but something people really want to make happen. I've had a lot of positive feedback and enthusiasm about the idea so far – it’s another thing entirely to be given the means to go do it. It’s a massive confidence boost.
“In the time I’ve spent on the accelerator programme, I was challenged by the excellence around me. We were an all-women cohort with business ideas relating to circular-economy food production, increasing accessibility in learning to write, and more. This motivated me to continue to improve.
“I went into the process knowing absolutely nothing about start-ups. I’m a creative person, not a technical one. But if you have something you’re passionate about and skills of any kind, you can combine the two into something only you can lead.”
UEA offers £500 ‘Try It’ grants and £2,000 ‘Do It’ grants to help students and new graduates explore an idea or launch a venture. To date, the University has awarded just under £500,000 in both ‘Try It’ and ‘Do It’ seed funding to student and graduate start-ups. Additional support is available through The Enterprise Fund, which provides ‘Grow It’ grants of up to £7,500 and ‘Scale It’ funding of up to £50,000 to help companies expand further.
Alongside funding, Student Enterprise offers extensive coaching, business start‑up mentoring, and a programme of workshops, events and competitions.
Penelope is now working towards the next stage of development, including refining branding and packaging concepts, conducting further market research, and building partnerships within the growing regional seaweed sector.
She also offered advice for other students hoping to turn their ideas into reality, saying: “If you’re open to tinkering with your ideas and at times pivoting, you can follow your passions anywhere.
“So, what’s the harm in applying for Change Makers? At worst, you’ll learn something, and at best, you’ll learn something and be given the means to act on it.”
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