Hello Green

Established in June 2016, Hello Green is the local distributor of more than 250 100 percent plant-based products manufactured by UK-based company, Vegware.

Unlike the popular plastic and Styrofoam containers, which are oil-based and therefore not biodegradable, Hello Green’s inventory of eco-friendly catering disposables and food packaging are, as Vegware states, “stylish, functional, economic and sustainable.”

Hello Green is the local and Caribbean (with the exception of Barbados) distributor of more than 250 compostable products from Vegware. These include soup containers, cutlery, napkins, hot and cold drink cups, platters, cupcake carriers, bags for sandwiches and pastries, and even straws.

Founder and Managing Director of the Trinidad-based company, Vandana Mangroo, spoke to Business Day about the inspiration behind her now nine-month-old company and her vision for a greener TT.

“I am an event co-coordinator; although Hello Green takes up most of my time now, and while organising and managing events, I realised how much waste, predominantly plastic and Styrofoam, was generated. Waste that would take hundreds of years to degrade, if at all and I thought, ‘there must be a better way.’ I was always very environmentally conscious growing up, and having lived abroad, I was exposed to how things are done in other countries, so I began researching compostable products.”

Mangroo smiled as she noted that customers can’t always tell the difference in ‘feel’ and look between plastic/Styrofoam and Hello Green’s products.

“Some of our packaging, you would look at it and know that it’s not Styrofoam but others, you would pick it up and think, ‘This is plastic.’ However, when you look at it more closely, you would see a label saying ‘made from plants not plastic’ or ‘completely compostable’. This goes to show how excellent our products are. Yes, they cost a little more than plastic or Styrofoam but it’s worth it when you think about the positive impact you are having on the environment (and your own health),” Mangroo declared.

Asked why she sought out companies manufacturing compostable products rather than the more commonly available biodegradable option, Mangroo noted that “the extent to which biodegradable products break down and return to nature varies. Compostable products, on the other hand, break down completely and in so doing, provide nutrients to the earth.”

According to the website, Heritage Pioneer Corporation Group, “materials that are biodegradable include corrugated cardboard and even some plastics... While biodegradable materials are designed to break down within landfills, compostable materials require special composting conditions. Compostable packaging materials include starch-based packing peanuts.”

Detailed research and correspondence with various companies between April and June 2016 led Mangroo to Vegware because, as she put it, “it really boiled down to who was willing to work with a small start-up company.”

Vegware was also “willing to provide a support system to us because this is a very new concept, very new product.”

Another reason Mangroo chose this company was because it has “the broadest range” of compostable products. (They are the largest global company of compostable products)

“As a matter of convenience to Hello Green’s customers, if someone is buying packaging from us, we wanted them to be able to get everything they need from us.”

Mangroo criss-crossed Trinidad during the second half of 2016, seeking out businesses in the food sector who were willing to switch to compostable containers.

“Some of our early adopters were The Sweet Beet, Diane’s Tea Shop and G-Spot Food Truck. Right now, our main customer base is concentrated in Port-of-Spain and environs, mainly because there is a greater concentration of restaurants and caf?s there but we do have customers in central and south Trinidad.”

Hello Green also counts Ciao Caf? in Scarborough, Tobago as one of its customers. “They buy their cappuccino cups from us. So we have some interaction with Tobago but right now, we are such a small business in terms of manpower, we’ve not been able to make an extensive sales pitch there.”

Mangroo shared that since she entered into a partnership with Vegware, “they have gotten a lot of inquiries that they’ve then referred to us because we have that partnership and we have that loyalty to each other. I think that’s important in business because being able to trust who you work with is the environment that you need to be able to flourish.”

Hello Green is currently in talks with different companies to expand its distribution network locally and regionally.

“I want people to know that caring about the environment is not only for one type of person or group. I started Hello Green to make environmentally-friendly products more accessible to people without it being such an effort. A lot of times people feel guilty about the styrofoam or plastic but don’t think that they have another option. So I wanted to make good quality, compostable, products accessible to people across the region,” Mangroo shared.