2021

Edible spoons for a sustainable future

5 questions for...
Amelie Vermeer and Julia Piechotta
Founders of Spoontainable, Heidelberg
1. How did the idea for your edible spoons come about?




During our studies, we dealt with plastic alternatives and environmentally friendly solutions in a student organization. While eating ice cream, we had the idea that it would be very easy to be able to eat the spoon as well, since the waffle is already eaten. So we started baking a spoon cookie in the shared kitchen. Of course, that didn't work right away - we spent countless hours in the kitchen. With the support of our food experts, we then came up with the cocoa shell fibers, which are obtained from the remains of the shell of the cocoa bean. Since they remain as a by-product of chocolate production, they were the optimal sustainable supplement for us.
2. Where do you get your raw materials from?
The cocoa shells and oat shells that our spoons are made of are biogenic residues in the food industry in Europe. With all other raw materials, too, we make sure that we buy them as sustainably and regionally as possible.
3. How long did you work on the development until the product was ready for the market? And how and where do you produce?




After creating our prototype in 2018, we found our cooperation partner Coppenrath Feingebäck fairly quickly, who was immediately enthusiastic about us and our idea. Together we then optimized the recipe for the machines and have been working closely with our producer ever since. In April 2019 the time had come for our market entry. Because after our successful crowdfunding campaign we were finally able to finance our first production. We continue to develop other products in the domestic kitchen.
4. Do you have concrete expansion ideas that you are pursuing? What are your next steps?
We want to become the market leader for sustainable plastic alternatives in the hospitality industry and show how easy it can be to lead a sustainable lifestyle. Next we will launch edible coffee stirrers for all sustainable coffee lovers and also offer our Spoonie classics in B2C packaging. We also offer our can of sustainability, i.e. the Spoonie chocs, in B2C packaging and have launched the Spoontainable's ice cream magic. With the ice powder, similar to a baking mix, you can easily make your own chocolate, strawberry or vanilla ice cream at home. Other cutlery such as knives and forks are also on the agenda.
5. What challenges have you had to overcome since the company was founded?
One of our biggest challenges was the financing of our company, as we needed capital for the start of mechanical production as well as for product development and optimization. We also have to take various hygiene and food regulations into account, such as packaging. Since we were still in the middle of our studies when we founded the company, time management also played a major role in juggling university, startup and part-time job. The Covid-19 pandemic has created completely new challenges for us - as for all companies - which we now have to master.