Leading Chinese food delivery platform Eleme, owned by Alibaba, is replacing traditional disposable chopsticks with edible chopsticks, aiming to achieve a 100% sustainable business model. Eleme has a share of more than 55% in China’s growing food delivery market, according to industry observers.
The edible chopsticks that Eleme distributes come in three different flavors, including wheat, green tea and purple sweet potato. Instead of wood, its key ingredients are wheat flour, butter, icing sugar, milk and water. Even if they are not consumed, they naturally degrade within a week after being discarded. Each pair of chopsticks is packed in colorful recycled paper, marketed as edible chopsticks that are “completely sustainable”.
China produces more than 57 billion pairs of disposable wood chopstick annually, which is equivalent to cutting down 3.8 million trees. Deforestation thus has become a serious environmental issue in China, with only 3.34% of its forests remaining intact. While the cost of producing edible chopsticks is indeed higher than the traditional wood chopsticks, cost is expected to decline as the scale of production expands.
Another concern with chopsticks is health and safety. Many chopsticks are made with toxic or irritant substances such as hydrogen peroxide, paraffin and sulfur dioxide, which may contribute to respiratory diseases.
Another Asian country consuming very large quantities of chopsticks is Japan. The country has attempted to introduce edible chopsticks in the past but wasn’t successful. Nagoya-based Marushige Confectionery developed an edible chopstick made with Igusa, more widely known as the type of reeds used to make traditional Japanese tatami floor mats.
However, most Japanese do not consider Igusa as a food, and so only two restaurants in Tokyo, Japan, were willing to offer these chopsticks to their customers, in stark contrast with Eleme’s endeavor in which 250,000 pairs of chopsticks were distributed by 43 major restaurant chains in the first week itself. In addition, more and more chains are expected to join the project.
Besides helping to save the planet, edible chopsticks are a good way of marketing also. Eleme is targeting the young who are open to trying out new things and have greater concern for the environment.
Eleme has rolled out edible chopsticks as part of the Relab program. Other considerable actions taken include incorporating plastics packaging used in takeaways and transforming the same into floret pots and providing financial incentive for recycling of packages. Ultimately, Eleme hopes to contribute significantly to finding more new and innovative solutions to the address the environmental issues.
Original articles:
https://adage.com/creativity/work/eleme-edible-chopsticks/2165086
