Hello
… thank you for being here! In light of my launching a brand new product to market, I wanted to take the time to write about the ‘Plight Of The Entrepreneur’ and in this case, part of my journey to developing a conscious product i.e. eco-conscious in both contents and packaging.
How It Started
I came into this knowing that I wanted SANIC to be a proudly South African product and because of that, I wanted to keep all of my suppliers local. I succeeded on all fronts except, well, the packaging. This was a huge deal for me. Non-negotiable. I wanted SANIC to be 100% recyclable and/or biodegradable and also wanted to do my part in growing the recycling economy by having all of our raw materials come from recycled materials.
I tried damn hard and was hopeful when my manufacturer had said that their bottling plant was able to create PET bottles from 50% recycled materials (with plans to get to 100%) – a win! However, the difficulty came when I couldn’t find a decent shaker lid made from recycled materials or that was recyclable.
This meant an ugly bottle (an aesthetic nightmare) because in all my efforts to be eco-conscious I had compromised heavily on design.
We’re Ugly, But We’re Conscious
I couldn’t handle the way my “ugly, but at least we’re conscious,” product looked and pined over original bottle sketch ups for a while before an idea hit me.
What… About… Cardboard? And, what about a cardboard tube that is both biodegradable AND recyclable? Surely someone makes these things from recycled paper? Yes, yes, they do. Unfortunately, however, I quickly found that having them made in South Africa would have rendered my business unprofitable.
Friends and family kept on telling me to consider China well known for its ‘cheapness’ in general. But this was hard, as I couldn’t get images of child labour, crowded, dirty factories, cheap plastic, and forests being plowed down out of my brain. At first, I decided against it in order to support South African business, but, quickly reconsidered, what businesses am I going to support in South Africa if I never actually get this one off the ground because my packaging was too costly? Jeepers! Yep, this folks is indicative of the plight of the entrepreneur.
China For The Win
I seriously started investigating Chinese import packaging options and was relieved to find that there was an abundance of eco-friendly options. I soon found a company that I liked and trusted with the relevant accreditation (factory, forest, etc.) and biodegradable products. All of this, plus an importing fee at a fraction of the price – just what this start-up needed!
What about the future? Well, when we’ve grown and we can apply the relevant economies of scale, I hope to relook at South African packaging options and maybe bring it back to a local supplier. But, until then, this is what it is.
All my love,
Kate.
P.S. If you’re an entrepreneur reading this, I’d love to hear your story? If you’re thinking about being an entrepreneur and reading this, I’d also love to hear your story.
