Camilla Jørgensen
Monash University
Gitanjali Bedi
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Samuel and Christine had a dream of making the world a little better, one beeswax wrap at a time. They make handcrafted beeswax wraps to reduce the use of single-use plastic like cling wrap in the kitchen. Through time they have innovated the use of beeswax wrapping and are now expanding into sustainable packaging as well, slowly changing our single-use mentality one step at a time.
Beeswax wrappings have been around for some time now and Bee Wrappy weren’t the first on the market providing this sustainable alternative for single-use plastic wrappings and foils. However, Christine and Samuel’s journey is a personal story about a family wanting to reduce their waste, contribute to the local community and make a difference for the people, helping them take a step in a more sustainable direction. Bee Wrappy is organic cotton coated with beeswax. The wraps are made in beautiful designs and are hand-crafted from 100% natural ingredients. Opposite to single-use plastic wrapping, beeswax wraps can be used up to 6-12 months. When Bee Wrappy beeswax wraps have lived out their life keeping vegetables lasting longer in the fridge, the wax will eventually wear off. When all wax is gone, the cotton is compostable and will not leave any waste behind.
Christine and Samuel heard of wrappings made by covering cotton cloths in beeswax. This way of reducing their everyday waste got them inspired to make their own beeswax wrappings with their own designs. Christine and Samuel always had a dream of starting a business, and with their backgrounds in community development and social works together with IT and business, they wanted to bring beeswax wrappings to their local community. They began by testing out different recipes perfecting the Bee Wrappy and started selling them on to family and friends as well as on the local market. Today, Bee Wrappy can be found in stores all over the world. When you ask Samuel and Christine what they sell, they will not answer "a product". Samuel said: “As far as I am concerned if you are in business you never sell a product. You are selling a brand, a feeling, trust. You are selling an emotion – you are selling a part of you.” When talking to Samuel, you immediately feel the passion for making people feel good and making the world a better place for everyone.
When Samuel and Christine started Bee Wrappy, they wanted to make a difference. For their customers as well as for the environment. They wanted their friends and family to think about more conscious consumption and at the same time give every customer a unique feeling. When Bee Wrappy was first started, the purpose was not to change the world but rather to “help someone do one thing better” on the journey towards reducing waste and taking care of the environment. At Bee Wrappy they believe that simply starting the conversation about more conscious consumption is a step in the right direction.
Bee Wrappy was started as a small local business selling the hand-crafted beeswax wraps on the local market. The local community embraced the new local business and Bee Wrappy quickly started growing by word of mouth. Today, Bee Wrappy has buyers all over the world selling the Bee Wrappy beeswax wraps. Besides the individual consumer, Samuel and Christine have expanded their business into more commercial markets and are working with a partner on a project to use Bee Wrappy as packaging for chocolate in Tasmania. And if you ask Samuel and Christine, there are almost endless ways to innovatively use beeswax wrapping, only limited by imagination.
Single-use plastic in the kitchen like cling-wrap is something we all use almost every day. These plastic materials are difficult to recycle and often contain toxins. By changing our go-to wrap from single-use plastic to multi-use alternatives like beeswax wrapping, we reduce the amount of plastic ending up in landfills and in our seas where it often turns into microplastic. Made from 100% organic material without any toxins, the beeswax wrap is better for your health and helps keep food fresh longer. When the beeswax wears out after 6-12 months the remaining cotton is biodegradable and can be composted. Thereby, Bee Wrappy contributes to more conscious consumption, reducing waste and preventing single-use plastic in the kitchen, ultimately preventing microplastic in the oceans. Besides the environmental benefits, Bee Wrappy is committed to giving back to the local community through OzHarvest; an organisation that reduces food waste.
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Samuel Bala, Owner
Bee Wrappy makes hand-crafted beeswax wraps from organic cotton in beautiful designs. The Bee Wrappy beeswax wrappings replace single-use plastic in the kitchen with pure organic and biodegradable materials.