In honor of Earth Day (April 22, 2024) we are spotlighting a few Earth-friendly small businesses. Entrepreneurship can be good for the planet, because it creates new ways of giving humans what they need while protecting the environment and supporting the climate. Changing the types of food we eat can make a big difference in carbon emissions and climate change.
One surprising example of reducing carbon emissions is by reducing food waste. You might not realize this, but every day in the global economy, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables get wasted and thrown away because they’re “ugly” — there’s nothing wrong with the food, but their appearance is not perfect enough to appear on grocery store shelves.
Confetti Snacks is an eco-friendly small business that’s trying to help solve the problem of food waste by repurposing “ugly” produce into delicious snacks. Let’s see how this earth-friendly food business is making a difference on Earth Day and all year round.
Reducing food waste — a surprisingly big impact on climate change
Here’s a shocking statistic that most Americans might not know: About one-third (33%) of all the food in the United States goes to waste, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Think of all the tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants that are grown in fields and transported on trucks, only to end up uneaten and thrown away.
It’s tragic to think about how many hungry people could have been fed with this wasted food. And what if, by eliminating all of this food waste, we could make everyone’s groceries 33% cheaper? Wasted food also ends up creating a big climate impact. According to data cited by Carbon Brief (carbonbrief.org), food waste represents about one-sixth (17%) of global greenhouse gas emissions. If we could stop wasting food, we could help cool our rapidly-heating planet.
How Confetti Snacks fights food waste
Confetti Snacks is a food startup that is trying to help solve the problem of food waste by turning rejected “ugly” produce into colorful plant-based snacks. Grocery retailers often consider certain types of produce to be unsellable, or “ugly” — because the fruits and veggies have an irregular shape or size. These vegetables are not damaged or bad, and they still taste good. They just don’t look perfect enough to appear on a shelf in the produce section.
Confetti Snacks “upcycles” this type of rejected produce, buying it from farmers and keeping it from going to waste and ending up in a landfill. Instead of the usual potato chips or corn chips, Confetti Snacks uses this “ugly” produce to make flavorful, nutrient-rich veggie chips with ingredients that include mushrooms, radishes, carrots, okra, and sweet potatoes. It also makes fruit chips from mandarin oranges.
Fighting climate change with Singapore flavors
The company was founded by Betty Lu, a Singapore native, and uses Singapore-inspired flavors like Tandoori Curry, Summer Truffle, and Teriyaki BBQ. Singapore has one of the most unique food cultures in the world, because its cuisine has a mix of diverse Chinese, South Asian, and Indian influences. You can experience a few of the best flavors of Singapore by eating Confetti Snacks.
Confetti Snacks also uses a proprietary low-heat baking process that helps preserve the nutrient content of the vegetables while also delivering a satisfying “crunch” from the chips. The goal of these veggie chips is to be so delicious, you’d think they were “regular” potato chips; they can deliver the craveable taste that salty snack lovers demand, while having strong nutritional value.
According to Confetti Snacks, the company has achieved average year-over-year growth of 312% since the start of its veggie snacks product line. Confetti Snacks have recently started to appear at U.S. retail stores. You can also buy its veggie snacks online at us.confettisnacks.com.
Bottom line
Small businesses and entrepreneurs can be part of the fight against climate change. By “upcycling” unwanted produce, Betty Lu and her Confetti Snacks company are helping reduce food waste while creating delicious new products. Finding new business models for unwanted food, or for upcycling or recycling materials that would otherwise go to waste or end up in the landfill, can create new economic opportunities for small businesses while reducing carbon emissions.
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