Eating Your Cutlery & Disposable Cups with This Innovative Invention

You have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard at some point about the plastic epidemic around the world and how it is destroying our environment and wildlife. It’s estimated that one truck of plastic waste is dumped into the ocean every day, having a profound impact on the world we live in, forcing us as designers to rethink invention production and its impacts on the environment.   

Eating Our Way to a Healthier Planet with This New Invention Production

Due to the increased awareness of the impact plastic is having on our environment, we’ve seen more and more solutions pop up in the industry to help prevent further damage to our environment. We talked about the designing of more eco-friendly products before in invention production, took a look at some amazing products like the smart food system by Ovie, and the reinvention of straws, which are single-handedly killing wildlife due to the inability to recycle plastic straws.

Edible Cutlery

Plastic cutlery alone contributes hugely to the waste we’re putting into landfills. Cutlery is made of a type of plastic known as polystyrene1 which is incredibly difficult to recycle, even when putting it into your recycle bin, it’ll still likely be sorted into a landfill. However, a company called Bakeys in India may have found a solution that still allows for the convenience of plastic cutlery but in a more eco-friendly way – cutlery you can eat!

Bakeys has developed vegan-friendly cutlery made from rice, wheat and sorghum, an ancient grain from Africa which prevents the utensils from going soggy in liquids. The cutlery comes in savoury, sweet and plain flavours, making it easy to combine it with anything you are eating. When you’re done using it, eat it up, similar to a dry cracker. Even if you don’t want to munch on your spoon after eating, these utensils will decompose in just a few days. Completely innovating invention production in this space.

Edible Cups

Similar to Bakeys, LOLIWARE has tackled another culprit of plastic waste, the disposable cup. We can’t simply completely replace to-go cups in the marketplace, however, LOLIWARE are 100% biodegradable and edible. Yes, you can eat it after you finish your drink or throw it in your compost. The cups range in flavours from cherry to vanilla bean and are gluten-free! How do they do it? They’ve innovated invention production by making their cups out of seaweed, organic sweeteners and flavours/colours, all derived from fruits and vegetables.

Taking a look at how companies like Bakeys and LOLIWARE are taking products that we’ve all grown accustomed to using for years and redeveloping them to be better for the environment is truly inspiring. We can’t wait to see more food service companies using products like these as a solution to the mass amount of plastic waste entering our landfills and oceans.

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!