Innovation

Company founder Dinesh Tadepalli traveled to India to figure out how to make edible cutlery in large batches after realizing that the amount of plastic waste from cutlery is one of the leading sources of plastic pollution. He originally reached out to a company that was already producing small batches of the edible spoons to ask them “Why aren’t you trying to produce them in larger batches?” The original company did not respond, and in fact shut down due to the lack of engineering power within a few months.

After thoroughly researching, Dinesh and his partner spent 1 year solely making the machine for mass producing the spoons. The goal was to make a sturdy spoon that is edible and has a light taste to it. Dinesh and his team had finally perfected the recipe and machinery to produce edible cutlery. All the spoons and sporks are made of Non-GMO grains, chickpeas, and corn and can remain firm for about 30-40 mins. The cutlery is also biodegradable, therefore if you do not wish to eat it, you may throw it away to naturally degrade.

After figuring out how to create the spoons, Dinesh set out to attend various small food conventions and trade shows to spread word about his product in the Unites States, often begging to set up a free booth. One day, a caterer from Canada asked him the price of 150,000 spoons. The caterer was very interested in Dinesh's product and placed an order 150,000, making Dinesh's first order a bulk order. In order to prepare his factory for fulfilling the order in four months, he sold his home in California and applied the funds from his home to the factory.

Edible cutlery is able to promote sustainable lifestyles by eliminating the plastic waste from food consumption. In fact, since the invention of their production, they have been able to replace 1.2 million plastic utensil waste products.

Inspiration

Dinesh Tadepalli was out eating ice cream with his kids and noticed a huge amount of plastic spoons in the trash. He then asked himself “I am an educated person, I am aware of plastic pollution. Then why didn’t I think twice before using plastic?” His guilt over polluting the environment by using large amounts of plastics led him to sell his house in California to build the company and factory. He wondered why no one thought of this before and why the only company that made edible spoons was making them in small batches.

Dinesh believes the two main threats to his children’s future are plastic and the climate. He feels plastic is always sidelined. Every company writes about their carbon emission and never write about how much plastic they consume. He believes people are not worrying about plastic because they do not feel its impact yet

Overall impact

In the case of IncrEDIBLE Eats, there was no business before the innovation. Dinesh Tadepalli came up with the idea to create truly biodegradable spoons and forks to mitigate the growing problem of pollution from plastic. According to Dinesh, cutlery is one of the main sources of plastic pollution. In fact, biodegradable spoons are technically not biodegradable unless you send the cutlery to the correct facilities to be decomposed. The company was built with the sole purpose of creating edible cutlery. Thus, the innovation became the business.

In addition to creating edible cutlery, IncrEDIBLE Eats is also dedicated to being a carbon negative company; they use GreenPrint to record the amount of carbon emission from making and shipping the product. They then pay GreenPrint to plant trees and apply more reusable energy. IncrEDIBLE Eats also prides itself of being plastic negative. This means that they calculate how much plastic is used by their product’s packaging and in transportation, and then donate an equal amount to a company that collects plastics from the ocean.

With the creation of biodegradable sporks and spoons and through their current sales, IncrEDIBLE Eats has been able to successfully replace 1.2 million plastic utensils in landfills

Business benefit

IncrEDIBLE aimed to reinvent the way we eat food by replacing all plastic utensils with edible options. IncrEDIBLE Eats has been featured on Shark Tank and listed in several publications for having the best plant-based items. The lightly flavored utensils can be used with both hot and cold foods, including soup, yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, cereal, pasta, rice, stews, and more. They can withstand hot or ice-cold foods for 30 minutes. The company has made their packaging out of eco-friendly paper and uses recyclable wrappers for the spoons.

Dinesh's initial approach was B2B service, since fast food and chain restaurants were the main source of plastic consumption and waste. He believed normal consumers should be using Stainless steel in their homes if they have the opportunity, because that is best for the planet. However, Covid changed his approach when a consumer said they take the product in their purse to restaurants. Now his sales goal consist to 70% of B2B sales and 30% of direct customer sales. The focus is on more B2B service since fast food and chain restaurants are the main source of plastic consumption, but direct customer sales can reduce the spread of Covid when everyone has their own wrapped spoon. The product could be seen being sold on Amazon. Also, Dippin' Dots, an ice cream company, announced back on Jan 12, 2022 that it will be launching a partnership with IncrEDIBLE Eats, which will hopefully inspire more companies to jump on board.

Currently, inflation has not affected the company. The company’s new idea to address with competition is to introduce edible straws and chopsticks to the market. They have the design down, all that is left is manufacturing. Dinesh and his partner spent one year solely making the machine for mass producing the products.

This company has a strong ability to adapt. The positive impact that the company has had is apparent in their positive reviews and their growth. They have a real focus on the quality of their product, and customers see the value in their purchases with the longevity of the product and the company's commitment to satisfaction. The prime goal is to make sure that the product provides customers with optimal satisfaction, while saving the earth from plastic.

Social and environmental benefit

incrEDIBLE Eat’s whole premise as a company is based on sustainability and not just creating profit, as described by co-founder Dinesh Tadepalli. The overall mission of the company is to play a role in not only helping to reduce plastic consumption and its pollution in oceans, but to bring awareness to the issue globally. Plastic products such as spoons are very harmful to the environment as they take many years to decompose and they pollute our oceans. This can heavily impact the well-being of wildlife, as they could accidentally ingest plastic items.

In addition to making the edible spoon environmentally friendly, the company has taken it a step further in its innovation by creating sustainable packaging. They limit the amount of plastic they use when shipping their products and incorporate the following elements: a single piece of tape on their boxes and recyclable-safe paper to protect their products from moisture. Regarding the packaging of the product itself, the use of forestry supply chain certifies paper and recyclable wrappers.

incrEDIBLE Eats also showcases how efforts are being taken globally in regards to assisting environmental risks, which gives them a positive reputation. For example, they discuss briefly on their website their support for the Waste Ventures India project that curates sustainable waste management models.

In emphasizing its societal impact, the company creates a presence on different social media platforms. While showcasing the great qualities and purpose of the edible spoon, incrEDIBLE Eats also manages to present itself as socially conscious. For example, on their Instagram page, they create posts that touch on subjects such as Earth Day and create captions to persuade their audience to be environmentally friendly. The company is intelligent when it comes to its aesthetically pleasing posts, since the contents usually refer to things that relate to nature, such as oceans and trees, to emphasize its mission towards sustainability.

Interview

Dinesh Tadepalli and Jack Kneubuhl, Spoon Visionary