Our Sustainability and Packaging Journey

Making a difference is a bumpy ride, and we want to bring you along for it. We're not perfect, and we're not going to get everything right, particularly not the first time. I'll use this page to update you on what we're changing, trialing, and impacting. If you're a customer, hopefully this helps you see what we're doing. If you're another business, I hope this helps your journey so you don't make the same mistakes.

Apr' 26

It's time to get ready for real orders. For shipping packaging, we go with Ecomailers from Heapsgood. Not only are they sustainable, but they're Aussie-owned with fast delivery and lots of sizes, helping us keep inventory low and adjust the size of the mailer to the size of the product.

Mar' 26

Now that we have a sustainable product, it's time to put it in packaging. 

There was much deliberation as to whether to choose recyclable soft plastics or compostable/recyclable paper. Ultimately, I chose to go down the recyclable/compostable route; in the best-case scenario, it's recycled, and in the worst-case scenario, it will still break down.

These bags are AS5810 certified for home composting, which is important as many 'compostable' products require specialist facilities that in practice mean very few actually get composted.

For the labels, I chose Avery Kraft labels. The facestock is recycled, but they still create significant plastic from the label backing. At this early stage, doing a large print run risks wasting packaging, so until their packaging and labeling stop iterating, this seems like a necessary part of the process.

These are printed on an HP Neverstop printer. The printer sucks, but it also means I don't have to buy new equipment, and the refill tubes require significantly less plastic than other printers.

Jan' 26

I realise that making my own seitan isn't going to work. I need to find a partner who can produce at scale and do it in dehydrated form to reduce the need for plastic, refrigeration, and a short shelf life.

After scouring the obscure vegan corners of the internet, I find a supplier. The protein is great, but it's flavourless.

To make something like chicken, it has to be delicious without really tasting like much. Not only that, the flavours have to be powdered. Science, art, and much trial and error later, I land on 'subtle umami', a flavour that is simple and delicious without needing any artificial flavour enhancers.

Our first product is born: Planet Protein plant-based chicken-shred

Dec' 25

This was the start of our first product. Frustrated with my corporate job and feeling overwhelmed with the work required to start a business, I asked myself: What business could I launch in just 1 day? 

I made a batch of seitan nuggets (using flavours that inspired the 'subtle umami' flavour that we still use today), created a Facebook Marketplace listing, and got to work. 

This was using a plant-based plastic zip-lock bag and recycled paper. Not scalable, not appealing at all, but you could say that this is where it all began.