How a wasteful problem led to a lucrative solution for The Swag

Despite increasing awareness about environmental issues and sustainability, it’s a sad fact that in Australia alone, more than 5 million tonnes of food ends up in landfill every year.

Astonishingly, each of us wastes around 140kg of food every year with much of it being fruit and vegetable matter. This equates to around 20 per cent of the food purchased per person or a yearly loss of around $1,000 per typical household.

Sydney-based Peita Pini was just one of the many people at their wits’ end on constant food waste. This gave her the business idea to develop a range of vegetable and fruit bags to preserve their longevity.

Sick of constant waste

“Basically, as a waste-conscious mum, I was sick of throwing away rotting fruit and vegetables. Not only does this cause a lot of food and plastic wastage which is bad for the planet, it’s literally money down the drain,” said the managing director.

“So almost five years ago I launched The Swag. Made out of multi-layers of unbleached, unseeded cotton. When dampened down with water it allows any produce inside it to breathe and hydrate, therefore staying fresher and nutrient-rich for weeks in the crisper of the fridge.”

Since 2016 Peita says the business has now sold more than 500,000 Swags.

“I feel the timing has been right given in the last few years there’s been a huge global emphasis on protecting the environment, using fewer resources and creating less food and plastic waste.”

Environmental products taking off

Environmental products are a rapidly growing industry and will be one of the main focusses at this year’s 2021 Naturally Good Expo, taking place at Sydney’s ICC this May.

At the previous 2019 expo, Peita won the event’s Pitch Fest competition taking home a prize package of more than $10,000. “Part of the reason why we won was that judges recognised our commitment to a worldwide issue and felt our product had the most global potential.”

That same year Peita also successfully pitched to TV show Shark Tank and was offered a deal by entrepreneur Glen Richards.

“He offered a structured deal of $300,000 for 25 per cent of the company, which we were initially thrilled about. However, The Richards Group did their due diligence following the show and it was mutually agreed that Swag Australia was valued at a lot more than what was discussed on the show, so we didn’t go through with the deal. However, Glen still mentors me from time to time which has been fantastic.”

The power of Oprah

Having ridden out the challenges of COVID-19 during 2020, The Swag has now expanded their range to include 100 per cent natural and plastic-free Swag Produce Bags, Bread Swags, Beauty Swags, Tea Swags and Lunch Swags.

“We’re stocked in wholesalers in the US and Canada, where our product has gone gangbusters thanks to Oprah Winfrey naming The Swag as one of her favourite sustainable products in O Magazine.

“Here in Australia, we’re in talks with a commercial kitchen, as many restaurants want to keep food wastage down. We are also currently conducting a research and development project with organisation Applied Horticultural Research to prove the efficacy of The Swag’s ability to keep fruit and vegies fresh for weeks.

Peita says it’s particularly beneficial for retailers to check out the Pitchfest competition at the show as entrants are always very passionate and often are presenting unique products.

“Being able to explain our passion and product in-depth to a captive audience was invaluable and we were thrilled to win.”

This post first appeared on Kochie’s Business Builders on March 21 2021 and was republished December 23 2021.

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