My name is Sarah and I am the chef/co-founder of Yum Granola here in Nelson.
I’ve been asked a few times in interviews lately why we choose this ‘sustainable’ path or, why we avoid plastic. It is a very simple answer for us– because we see no other way to do business.
Yum is essentially an extension of our values as human beings. And, as human beings, the future of our planet depends on our stewardship. How can we use Yum to be a part of the solution and the greater good to care for our planet? With that, quite literally since the first day of Yum, every single action we take reflects our values to create the lightest footprint and leave the planet better than we found it. It is why we choose organic ingredients (no chemical input). It is why we choose local ingredients (less CO2 emissions because they haven’t traveled as far). It is why we avoid plastics in our packaging (no petrochemical plastic to the tip). It is why we recycle our ingredient pails and keep them in use (reduces new packaging). There are so many things we do every single day yet we still don’t feel like we do enough and I guess this is what keeps us hungry to always be looking for ways to do more. It’s a good challenge that we openly accept, now in our 8th year of Yum-ing.
While we were one of the first (and still one of the only) products in our category to use plant-based packaging, we still get pushback. Yes, we know not everyone composts their packaging, yes we know there is still a small amount of plastic in the packaging (less than 3%), and yes we do know single-use isn’t a solution. However we believe we are doing the best we can and to us, the choice of using plant-based packaging for the past 3 years, equates to over 10T of petrochemical plastic packaging that is not going back to the planet. Burying rubbish is not sustainable or an optimal solution in our eyes, so yes, this is better.
Our optimal solution? Selling Yum in ways that require no new packaging or better yet, no packaging. Now, as a granola (and pancake mix) company, one might struggle to visualize how it could be sold without packaging. Let me help you with that! Locally here in Nelson, we have our local Yum Honesty Box, where locals can order their favorite Yum products online, drop off their container to the Honesty Box, and pick it up, filled with the freshest batch of Yum, sans packaging. Nothing fills our hearts more than to see our Honesty Box filled with empty containers of varying shapes, sizes, and colors, knowing they will all be filled with Yum, and zero new packaging was used. This is the best! We offer this option at a heavily discounted (or incentivized) price, one that helps foster and encourage people to step outside their comfort zone and bring their own containers to be filled.
We also reuse the 20l pails we receive some of our ingredients in, sanitize them, and turn around to sell our 8kg bulk pails in them. Another solution introducing zero packaging. For some of our stockists, we offer a return scheme where they collect the used containers and send them back when they have four or more. Then, when we receive them, we keep them in use and keep filling them with more Yum. A completely circular solution!
Some other little bits we do every day…we use paper tape, to minimize plastic. We reuse the paper we receive our organic ingredients in as filler for our online orders. We have zero food waste because our systems in our production are efficient and no waste is produced. One of our key ingredients, honey, is sourced locally so it supports local and also doesn’t travel more than 10k. The pails we receive our honey, hazelnuts, and walnuts in are returned to the supplier to keep in use.
