Observing Evo & Co's Collaboration with Seaweed to Reduce Plastic Waste

Plastic pollution is a global problem. According to widely cited research various articles, it is estimated that by 2025 there are as many as 100 million to 250 million metric tons of plastic waste that can enter the ocean every year. Another study projects that, without changes to current practices, there may be more plastic by weight than fish in the oceans by 2050.

For a developing country like Indonesia, the challenges in managing this crisis are quite large. Around 160 million Indonesians still do not have access to regular waste collection at home. Indonesia National Plastic Action Partnership estimates the country produces 6,8 million tonnes of plastic waste every year – much of it untreated and unmanaged, ending up in waterways and oceans.

The country is the second-highest polluter of plastics in the oceans after China, and is also being challenged to find solutions to combat the ever-increasing consumption of single-use plastics. This classic polemic has actually become a promising business potential for Evoware, a startup that offers an alternative to plastic for packaging products with natural ingredients.

David Christian's return to his homeland after completing college in Canada, left him with deep concerns about pollution and waste that could not be managed properly. The conditions are in stark contrast to Canada. Starting from there, he realized the problem had always been there, but it hadn't crossed his mind.

“That is a problem. I realized that I wanted to create something unique and unheard of so that it would get people's attention. "The product must be able to solve environmental problems," said David when contacted DailySocial.id.

Evo & Co product innovation

After doing some research starting in 2015, he was inspired to create edible cups to replace single-use plastic cups. Edwin Tan also showed interest in this issue and joined David to start Evoware. Edwin contributes his knowledge and experience in business, finance, investment and social impact.

The first product from Evoware was "Ello Jello" in April 2016. Ello Jello is edible glass due to its marine base, its texture is similar to denser forms of jelly, it is made from seaweed and has no preservatives, artificial sweeteners, gluten, or gelatin . He got this basic ingredient directly from local seaweed farmers.

These cups are available in several different flavors, including orange, lychee, green tea and peppermint, and can last up to seven days when stored in the refrigerator. Not just glass, there are others the packaging which is usually used for coffee sachets to individual biscuits. Interestingly, the packaging It can be dissolved in warm water.

Packaging This can last up to two years, can be eaten or turned into fertilizer as it can decompose in one to two months. Seaweed was chosen because it is an energy-saving and economical substance to grow, no land clearance or deforestation is required. Seaweed also acts as a natural carbon sink, permanently removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Indonesia itself is a leading exporter of seaweed commodities. It is estimated that every year more than 10 million tons of seaweed are exported.

Since then, the company has expanded its products and Evoware is now one of the brands under Evo & Co, along with Evoworld. Evoworld provides a variety of plastic bag products in various sizes, made from cassava which can be decomposed and can be composted. Derived products from these basic materials, in the form of plastic rolls which are usually used to wrap vegetables, styrofoam (cork) to wrap food. There are also products made from white sugar cane and brown areca leaves.

Next, make paper straws that can be destroyed within two hours after use and rice straws that can be eaten or stored again. Evoworld also produces eating utensils, such as cutlery, knives, straws made from bamboo that can be reused.

“After the first product launch in 2016, our next year launch the second product is made from seaweed such as sachet packaging plastic replacement. Then in 2019, we differentiated plastic replacement products from other materials, such as cassava, rice, sugar cane bagasse, and others. "In that year we also focused on business, developing products and starting the Rethink campaign."

Rethink runs campaigns around the world working with governments and businesses to promote sustainable living.

business model

All products released by the company, except for Ello Jello, are the result of trading (buying and selling) with manufacturers acquired by the company. "So Evo & Co provides plastic replacement products, other people produce them, we sell them."

However, currently the company is starting to develop its own research and innovation center to be more massive in innovating environmentally friendly products. Unfortunately, David is still keeping a tight lid on this matter.

The company's biggest business contributor comes from product sales overseas. The majority of business schemes are carried out on a B2B basis with clients mostly coming from the hospitality industry. Evo & Co provides customization options for B2B clients, for example attaching their brand to plastic bags or so on. B2C channels are also available, but so far they only rely on marketplace platforms.

It is claimed that the comparison of business from within and outside the country is quite equal 50:50. When added up, Evo & Co has distributed its products to more than 50 countries. Meanwhile, the largest countries that buy a lot of Evo & Co products are Malaysia, Australia and Japan. In these three countries, there are large distributors who are ready to supply the needs of the horeca industry with environmentally friendly products made by Evo & Co.

David said, this year his party will expand further into the European region. “This overseas business only started this year. In terms of intensity, it's not big, but in terms of quantity, the amount is large. But it's the opposite in Indonesia. We want to boost business to Europe because market"It's big, not just in Indonesia."

Not only targeting large clients, recently the company has started targeting SMEs to also switch to environmentally friendly products. Currently still in the trial phase, there are 10 food stalls in Jakarta that have joined. David said that in educating food stall owners they had to make many adjustments.

One way to do this is to take an approach to reducing plastic straws. If consumers do not ask for straws, they should not be given them. But if you ask, you will be given an edible straw from Evo & Co. Furthermore, waste training is held which can be sorted and sold to earn extra money.

"This additional money can be used to buy straws, the prices of which we have subsidized as cheaply as possible. This is part of movement "We are because environmentally friendly products are usually used by middle to upper class businesses in malls."

It is claimed that since the last two years, the company has succeeded in reducing 3,96 million waste, 32.260 sachet waste, 11.417 cup waste, 109.843 cutlery waste, and so on.

Of all its initiatives, Evoware has also won various awards. These include winning the “Redesigning Sachet” category at the Circular Design Challenge in Malta in 2017 – an international competition organized by The New Plastics Economy (led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.) This competition focuses on plastic items such as sachets and lids, which are often too small or complicated to recycle.

Evo & Co received grant funding of $1 million, the only company from Asia that managed to occupy the top six positions along with other companies. Furthermore, in August 2021, it obtained initial stage funding with a confidential amount from ANGO Ventures, an early stage VC led by one of ANGIN's clients, namely Mariko Asmara.

David said, to support all the company's plans to fight plastic waste, it is currently raising the latest round of funds. The Evo & Co team currently consists of 12 people and is headquartered in Jakarta.