A treat from us to you: This is a sponsored review for Crunch Cutlery written by Yi Xuan, our marketing and communications intern. For this merry season, Green Nudge and Crunch Cutlery has partnered up to offer a 10% discount off Crunch Cutlery’s edible spoons. To enjoy the discount, use the promo code “GREENNUDGE”. The promotion lasts till 31 May 2021. To check out their offerings, head to their website here.
Crunch! There goes the spoon…
Lost to the mouth, not to the seas thankfully.
Yet this little change is reflective in the increasing efforts of making sustainability a lifestyle. With the pandemic halting all environmental efforts such as bring-your-own reusables, and increasing plastic waste by 1334 tonnes during the circuit breaker, this gem of a find is certainly welcome in such turbulent times.
What gem do I speak about?
Of course, it’s Crunch Cutlery’s edible spoons!
The first local/ Singaporean startup to weave in the issue of poor urban nutrition whilst tackling the issue of plastic waste, Crunch Cutlery offers edible spoons as their alternative to disposable cutlery items. Aiming to cater to a wide range of preferences, Crunch Cutlery offers a line of edible spoons of various flavours, incorporating healthy superfoods into the mix!
A different take on addressing the issue of disposable cutlery, this curious snack definitely piqued my interest. Imagine, having this novelty at home and impressing your family and friends!
BUT, before I partake in this interesting snack, I will be looking at:
A new startup, their offerings are certainly unique from that of their competitors (if any). Interestingly, the concept of edible cutlery has always been present, but never conceptualised up till now.
Circuit breaker was definitely a period that I’m sure all of us would like to NOT revisit, but it certainly proved fruitful for founder Anna Lam, when she successfully created the recipe for the edible spoons we see today!
Starting its humble beginnings from a home kitchen, the company has now shifted to a co-sharing baking facility at The Muffinery. In 2020 alone, Crunch Cutlery has rapidly expanded its operations and began distributing its edible cutlery to three shops. Working with A*STAR to develop more forms of edible cutlery, and R&D to improve on its current offerings, we’re eagerly waiting on Crunch Cutlery to roll out more options!
Well I was definitely surprised when I opened the container.
Understandably, plastic containers were used to ensure the freshness and quality of the spoons and prevent spoilage of their products. The material of the container was also sturdy enough for me to reuse and repurpose it to store something else (more snacksss).
But what really surprised me was the item they used to seal the container. I expected a plastic or aluminium seal at the top, those that we often see when opening a packaged item, but imagine my surprise when I saw a plastic seal sitting snugly at the opening of the container, because this meant that I can still reuse this to seal off the top! It may not be airtight but it’s still better than a single-use plastic or aluminium seal.
Upon removing the plastic bit, I was hit by a strong strawberry scent which smelled quite fruity (definitely heightening my expectations here). When I first saw the spoon and held it, it resembled the chinese soup spoon, the ones we have at home and see at hawker centres. It also felt rather fragile, and I can’t shake the feeling that the stem of the spoon will snap as I am enjoying my meal.
It certainly adds some tension to a meal, huh.
Sustainability is very important, people!
And Crunch Cutlery certainly has this portion covered.
Currently, Singaporeans use 500 million units of disposable cutlery items per year, adding on to the amount of waste sent to our one and only Semakau Landfill. With Crunch Cutlery’s intervention however, it seems that some light can be shed on how we can reduce our disposable cutlery usage besides bringing reusables.
Plus, it’s a good and healthy addition to any meal.
And for all the lazy, ahem, busy people out there, using this spoon also means there’s no need to wash your cutlery, a definite plus point, no?
Paying YOU to Recycle
The company also understands the technicalities/complexity/intricacies of using plastic in their products, and are determined to reduce the number of plastics they use in their operations. Which brought about their Recycle and Save Programme! With two drop off locations in Singapore, they offer a $1.50 discount off next purchase, to encourage their customers to recycle their plastic containers and minimise their plastic footprint.
You can have your spoon, and eat it too.
IF you eat it within 3 months.
Truthfully, it took me a while to get down to eating it (my laziness knows no bounds).
I tried the Pink Strawberry Spoons from their line of offerings. Loaded with nutritious organic chia seeds, golden flaxseeds and dessicated coconuts in all their spoons, this definitely shows their intent on creating healthy alternatives that also serve to tackle the problem of poor urban nutrition.
I ate my homemade acai with the spoon as the healthy accompaniment, and also shared the snack with my colleague, Gena!
I don’t usually have a habit of doing it, but out of curiosity and also for this review, I licked the spoon to get a feel for its texture. True enough, the texture was quite smooth and feels almost like a really crunch biscuit. It wasn’t powdery or flaky at all. And strangely enough, I had this urge to bite the spoon as I was eating my acai. Well, Gena was the first to give in and tried to take a big bite.
She certainly had a shock when she tried biting it. It was really quite sturdy and apparently, according to UglyFood, it can withstand 20 minutes of use in hot liquids. I, of course, tried to take a small bite almost immediately after that, and I was able to break off a small piece to taste. The spoon was very crunchy, bordering on tough.
Surprisingly, the taste of the strawberry did not come through as strongly as I thought it would (good news to all those who don’t really enjoy strawberries!). There was a faint sweetness to it, but also tasted a little salty, but that might be because I had it with acai. There was also the ‘taste of health’, I felt like I could taste the nutrients packed in the spoon, but maybe that’s just me.
Disaster struck a few moments later. Gena’s spoon broke, and she was left holding the very tip of the spoon. When I asked her about it, she shared words of wisdom to me, and I have decided to share it with all of you as well.
Words of Wisdom from Gena: Hold the spoon PROPERLY, don’t just hold the tip of it. Confirm will break if you don’t.
Well the incident certainly did leave us laughing about it for a while, but we finished the acai and promptly ate the spoon too (well Gena ate the bits of her broken spoon).
This is quite the novelty snack. Eating the cutlery after finishing your meal? Amazing. What a power move.
Or as Green Boss says, “It’s like betraying the spoon that fed you”.
The snack was definitely on my list of weirdest snacks I ever ate, but it was a welcome addition. My only minus point was how I was going to bring it out with me for my meals and snacks, seeing as I may have to handle it with my not-so-clean hands. But the spoon did leave my hand with a sweet strawberry scent after the snack so that has its benefits.
But seriously, this effort to reduce disposable cutlery usage whilst tackling the issue of poor urban nutrition is commendable, and the company does so with a unique twist that does not compromise on their goals. Originally offering their products on e-commerce platforms, the company has temporarily ceased operations on that front due to the amount of waste generated, and instead partnered with brick-and-mortar stores like Ugly Food and Well Smoocht. Only recently have they resumed their online orders after finding a more sustainable packaging solution.
Interested to give it a try? Crunch Cutlery’s line of products aims to cater to all, offering a variety of flavours ranging from the safe but Gluten-Free Buckwheat spoon, to the Spicy Fibre-Rich spoons, the Matcha Fibre-Rich spoons and even a Butterfly Pea Lychee spoon. Coming in a pack of 8, with the price ranging from $11 to $13, the price of each spoon is pretty affordable and well worth it, given the amount of effort and time it takes to make such spoons. Plus, with the Recycle & Save programme, a $1.50 discount would be offered on the next purchase, which makes this deal even sweeter (or spicier, if you prefer)!
So why not try one today? Every CRUNCH Cutlery you use is one less contribution to the amount of plastic polluting our environment!
As part of efforts in the sustainability space, we’re working with Crunch Cutlery to share about their amazing products! By using our discount code “GREENNUDGE”, you can redeem a 10% discount off their products! Simply use the discount code at the checkout page of Crunch Cutlery’s website! Promotion lasts till 31 May 2021. The products are all handmade, so grab it while you can!
Well, if you will excuse me, I’ll be munching on my spoons.
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