Food production and food waste pose some big environmental challenges to consumers and businesses alike, but these pioneering green entrepreneurs are finding ways around traditional challenges with innovative ideas for supporting sustainable agriculture and avoiding food waste.
Batlow Apples Turns Trash into Cider Treasure with This Green Business Idea
Made with 3.5 apples per bottle, Batlow Premium Cider was developed out of a need to find a use for waste products produced in the apple growing industry. The apple co-operative, Batlow Apples, found that its waste fruit was just that – waste.
So instead of throwing the apples that weren’t deemed suitable for the supermarket into the trash, Batlow Apples decided to create a side business making apple cider. Their beverage is made without concentrates or sugar, is gluten-free, and apparently a favorite of Australians. Check out their quirky video on the selection of apples for the cider:
MyFarm.com Crowd-Manages Agricultural Production, Supports Small Farm
A Portuguese farm is now being run by the masses through MyFarm.com. This conventional farm was converted into farm land which is now being crowd-managed by urban dwellers, giving them the opportunity to participate in farm life without having to move to the farm. Functioning much like a game (think Farmville), MyFarm.com makes real-life agriculture fun and creative.
Members of the farm co-operative are able to purchase 49 square meters of land for EUR 60, which gives them 600 points, with the opportunity to purchase more points at a rate of EUR 1 per 10 points.
The points are then converted into power that can be used to dictate what happens on the farm. Members can choose from activities like selecting which seeds to grow, determining when seeds should be planted and how many to sow, as well as some of the techniques used for cultivation. And if members aren’t sure what’s best, they can consult the online information available to them on how sustainable farms are managed. The workers on the farm are then to set to work within three working days (weather permitting) to carry out the plans of the members. They also receive updates on how their garden grows.
Once the season is complete, the members receive a portion of the crop to get a taste for what they’ve cooperatively created! Members are also required to pay a monthly lease of EUR 25 which goes to supporting the farm. It’s a great concept for educating people about the origins of food while supporting small farmers at the same time.
Zéro Gâchis Helps Businesses Discount Food to Avoid Spoilage Waste
In another stroke of food-saving brilliance, Zéro Gâchis, a French based green enterprise, has created a way for businesses to avoid food waste by advertising sales on foods that are near their expiration dates. When a grocer or bakery finds that they have items that will soon spoil if they are not consumed, they can create promotions to offer the foods at a discount. Buyers are notified of the sales via the site and can take quick action to purchase the goods before they go. Buyers also earn points for using the site, which gives them even further discounts in the future or be given at donations that help to avoid food waste.
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Good article Maryruth. Hope these kind of articles inspire more people to enter to the Green business. It is the need of the time.
Mmmm, cider; probably one of my favourite kinds of entrepreneurship right there.
Really good article, and one that I wish people saw. There are so many opportunities out there for businesses to expand in ecologically friendly directions, and these are exactly the kinds of inspirations stories that need to get out there. It shows how being green can be a valid business strategy in its own right, and is not simply the empty PR gesture that most corporations treat it as.
Thanks for this article, Maryuth.
I think it becomes more difficult to create a green business to compete big brand. But green businesses also have advantages.
Today, we need green business to save the environnement.
That’s a sure great way to use apples instead of just discarding them. I hope more businesses do this or think of some more great ways to use their trash products or convert it into another great product. If this is done by every other company then surely waste will really be decreased.
Very inspiring article Maryruth! Waste food management industry is growing as new ideas emerge from people who care about the green environment. Hope everyone will do our part for this cause.
All three of these ideas are so resourceful! The posted video was especially absorbing and creative, highlighting a different way of harvesting that generates less (you guessed it) waste.
It’s a very informative article, Maryuth and it gives awareness to the readers about green businesses.
I really like farmiville and it’s quite interesting to know that MyFarm.com makes real-life agriculture fun and creative and no doubt It’s a great concept to educate people about the origins of food and to support small farmers at the same time.
I enjoyed reading this post. Businesses New Zealand are realising the impact of green marketing and there is a big push for sustainability in all areas of business. Always takes time to move peoples’ mindset but we are making a good start.
I love it when companies go out of their way to be green…good choice by Batlow Apples that is also making them more money.
Great article! I’m no businessman but I admire green entrepreneurs and businesses who care about our environment. It would be wonderful if we all do our part and go green in our simple way.
I would love to try the apple cider from those apples. I bet you can’t even really taste a difference. It’s so alarming to me how much waste is actually coming from spoiled food. Of course businesses need to do their parts, but users need to be conscious of their buying habits so they’re not buying food they ultimate will never eat.
Zéro Gâchis is brilliant and could become huge. It is beneficial for consumers and businesses alike, in addition to reducing food waste. A true win-win-win scenario. That is a great example of using innovative thinking and mnodern communications technology to bring tremendous benefit to all, at a profit. This s the essense of real marketing.