On Changing The Future Of Plastic By Creating A Compostable Stretch Wrap [Australia]

Julia Kay

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Published: August 27th, 2022

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Julia Kay

Founder, GREAT WRAP

Founders

Employees

GREAT WRAP

greatwrap.co

from Melbourne VIC, Australia

started May 2022

Founders

Employees

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Hello, I am Julia Kay, the Co-founder of Great Wrap, the only Australian-made and owned compostable stretch wrap! We’re changing the future of plastic, reducing our dependence on finite resources, and rehabilitating our planet through regeneration. By developing new technology and materials, we want to create a world where petroleum-based plastic does not exist.

We looked at plastic, one of the greatest environmental issues, and thought, “we can change that”. Since its launch in 2019, Great Wrap has gone through significant growth and has now established 2 manufacturing facilities in Melbourne, Australia and we’re about to launch in the United States with our direct-to-consumer product.

A staggering 8,910,000 tonnes of plastic stretch wrap is sent to America's landfills each year, polluting our oceans and landfills. It was astounding to us that there was no alternative to petroleum-based stretch wrap, until Great Wrap.

What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?

I was working in architecture. I’d spent my career obsessing over the materials I was using everyday. I saw huge amounts of waste in the construction industry and wanted to do something about it. In the US alone 145 million tons of construction waste going to landfills each year.

Jordy, my husband and Co-founder of Great Wrap, was making natural wine and farming organically and felt similar frustrations when shipping his wines around the world. We realized we spoke the language of materials and decided we should use this skill set to reinvent our everyday material palette.

We chose a product we both used everyday and knew there was no sustainable alternative for and that was pallet wrap. Almost everything around us has been wrapped in petroleum-based pallet wrap on a truck for transport in some part of its lifetime.

It felt like a problem we wanted to tackle. In both our previous careers we were working with passion rather than for financial reward which has carried through to Great Wrap for us. I also think that we were both highly aware of the environments around us. Whether it be the natural environment or built environment it was a big part of our every day.

One day we were sitting on a beach and asked ourselves if we weren’t operating in our respective industries would they be any different without us. The answer felt like a no which was when we decided to do something more meaningful for the planet and ourselves.

We both love spending time in the ocean so the plastic waste problem felt like a natural fit to tackle. That’s when Great Wrap was born.

When you run a business you make a lot of big plans, have a clear vision, and set blue sky goals but, inevitably, the biggest problems will always be the ones you haven’t got a contingency plan for.

Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.

It’s been an amazing journey! When we first launched Great Wrap we just wanted to test that there was an appetite for a product like ours. We knew we wanted to use compostable stretch wrap but weren’t sure if this was actually a product the rest of the world would care about.

We had some stretch wrap contract manufactured and posted it on our own personal Instagram accounts - it sold out within hours! That’s when we knew we were doing something important. It was after that moment that we decided we’d have to make it ourselves to ensure we could give customers the best products possible without making any sacrifices on quality and scalability.

Now we have a factory manufacturing it ourselves where we’re creating local inclusive jobs and using renewables to power it.

Our first formula was made from PLA. PLA usually requires intensive agriculture that can be detrimental to the environment, we want to offer products that solve problems, not create them. So, our product today is made from potato waste and a mix of other compostable biopolymers - and it’s certified compostable. Using food waste as the main raw ingredient means that we can contribute to the circular economy and solve more than one problem at a time.

We had some valuable feedback come through from customers who were having a hard time with our original packaging and cutter - so we upgraded with an interim solution of a slide cutter made with 100% recyclable plastic while we designed and manufactured a new and world-first solution.

Our cling wrap is now housed in the Great Mate, a refillable dispenser made from 33 ocean-bound plastic bottles. Great Mate is designed to dispense and slice Great Wrap’s certified home compostable cling wrap and help people minimize their reliance on single-use packaging.

We designed and manufactured this locally so we could control all aspects of the design process to ensure the best quality. It was also a great opportunity to sneak some design back into the stretch wrap experience. It’s a product we want people to be proud to have in their kitchens.

Every day we are faced with new challenges that we could never prepare for like difficulties with our machine, Covid-19, and supplier delays. When you run a business you make a lot of big plans, have a clear vision, and set blue sky goals but it is inevitable that the biggest problems will always be the ones you haven’t got a contingency plan for. This keeps us level-headed and at peace with whatever work throws at us because we understand that it’s impossible to prepare for everything!

Describe the process of launching the business.

When Great Wrap was in its infancy it was just the two of us working from home in our spare bedroom. From the website to packing orders, for the first year, Jordy and I did just about everything. In 2020 we received a $20,000 grant from Amazon and investment support which helped us grow our team and reach our goal to manufacture solely in Australia.

Now, almost 2 years later we have an amazing team at our factory and in our office who help us keep the wheels moving. We didn't expect to grow into such an amazing team so quickly.

When we started we knew it was important to work but we didn't realize it would be so important to other people as well. Jordy and I are so driven by what we are doing and it is so exciting to have a team of people around you cheering you on every day. They help us bring the Great Wrap vision to life, along with our amazing customers.

We have supported this innovation through financial investment and bringing on a team dedicated to the same values as us. Our team size is currently 30, which has doubled in the last 8 months and we can’t wait to see it grow this year.

Image of Jordy when we first launched and were packing orders in our living room

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?

From the beginning, we have invited our audience to be a part of our journey. We are more than just a product, and we communicate that by being transparent about who we are and what we do. Bio tech and manufacturing are not things that are normally discussed in the sustainability space, so we use creative ways to educate and inform our audience about them.

We rely on social media, email marketing/newsletters, and partnerships to create a community of informed and engaged customers. We’ve also received some incredible media coverage in Australia including Rolling Stone, CPGD, Channel 9 News (Aus) and more.

The way we communicate to our audience is something that we have curated over the course of the business. As we’re a business that covers multiple consumer areas including, chefs, home cooks, composters, and business owners, our messaging is regularly tailored to suit the audience.

Stretch wrap isn't a product that traditionally prioritizes a strong brand or creativity. But why not? We have a strong brand story and business, and sharing this is something that has worked really well for us.

By creating an aspirational brand we are part of shifting a market expectation that cling wrap is a household product without merit. We want to drive people to expect more from the everyday materials they come into contact with.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

The impact of our innovation is clearly demonstrated through the hundreds of articles and awards we’ve been covered in and recognized for - which we’re very grateful for. The media response in Australia has been massive, spanning TV, print, online, radio, and magazines - people seem to love what we do.

Our product is a solution to a problem that had previously not been solved. We are seeing a significant amount of conviction from the market, by making the move away from conventional petroleum-based stretch wrap.

We currently sell our product directly to consumers through our online store. However, as we expand to the United States and launch new products, we plan to expand into wholesale markets.

The next ten years at Great Wrap will be big! They’ll look like rapid growth, new product development, international expansion, biotech advancements, growing teams, and thoughtful leadership opportunities.

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

The best advice I’ve ever received is to trust your own instincts. When you start a business you will find that immediately you attract a lot of unsolicited advice.

Sometimes this can be great, other times it can give you whiplash. Very early on in the Great Wrap journey, a mentor reminded me that nobody knows our business as well as we do so I try to remind myself of this most days.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

From the start, we have tried to utilize tools and online resources to improve both our business and company culture. As a business growing through the COVID-19 pandemic, it was important to us to rely on online tools such as Google Meet, Slack, and Notion, to keep our employees engaged and informed.

When we couldn’t be in the office together much last year, so our team would have weekly meetings via Google Meet and keep in touch via Slack. When you can’t all be in an office together - you have to be creative in ways you bring everyone together.

We also rely on a variety of platforms to improve our customer experience. We use a platform called gorgias to streamline our community management and customer service. We rely on Klaviyo for all of our email marketing campaigns - which has been a great tool from the start!

There are so many amazing tools and platforms out there to improve businesses both internally and externally and we are constantly looking for new tools and ways we can improve!

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

In praise of shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki - This book isn’t typically about business but it is about appreciating both light and darkness. It is actually an essay on aesthetics but it reads more like a poem and I love rereading it. Sometimes to create beautiful things can be hard or dark. This is important to remember when things get hard in your business! There are a lot of moments about appreciating the nuances of the world around us which is important too.

High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil - A bible for anyone dreaming of scaling up their ideas into a business that changes the world.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?

Often we are worried about getting things right the first time. As long as you are taking a step in the right direction you will get to where you want to go.

Set up that website or have that phone call. Whatever it takes to start, just get in there and have fun!

Where can we go to learn more?

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