Consistently tasty food, a focus on sustainability, and a drive to promote overall wellness are part of the reason why ethey has become Canada's most loved meal delivery service
Much is being written about the importance of sustainability in the food industry.
In a recent whitepaper published by Food Ingredients Global, they write that "the food and drink industry is facing an unprecedented set of challenges. The global population is expected to increase to nine billion by 2050, resulting in a 60% increase in demand for food - yet natural resources such as land, water and biodiversity are already under pressure.
Meanwhile, rising temperatures and extreme weather events - consequences of climate change, have already shown an ability to cause severe disruption to global food supplies, as has political instability."
They further add that the food sector is a major contributor to the challenges the world is facing. Industrial livestock farming is responsible for 14.5% of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and agriculture is responsible for 75% of global deforestation.
Ethey, a leading chef-prepared meal delivery service that operates from coast to coast in Canada has sustainability as its key priority. The brainchild of founder and CEO Nick Spina, ethey aim to be a completely sustainable, zero-waste business. "Ethey was created out of a realisation that people care about sustainability as much as we do," says Spina. "Creating a brand that focused on sustainability and overall wellness was key. This brand could be a true vessel to amplify the message of sustainability that we're practicing, and we hope to inspire that in other brands as well."
Tackling Food Waste
Food waste is a significant problem, with up to 40% of produced food being wasted globally. The impact of food waste goes beyond the surface level and impacts water usage, carbon emissions, livestock, and more. With this in mind, Spina and his team have made the reduction of food waste key to their business and the production of their food.
"We vowed to be a zero percent food waste company, and have a closed-loop production method to make that happen," says Spina. "As a result, we prevent one pound of food waste from entering landfills for each chef-prepared meal we produce." Ethey's goal is to ultimately prevent one billion pounds of food waste simply by people choosing their freshly prepared meals rather than a restaurant or even at-home cooking.
To reach their goal, they reuse, recycle, and upcycle as much of the organic matter as possible. "Our chefs prepare what is needed for your meal, using locally sourced produce when possible. Whatever fresh food doesn't make it into the meal, is assessed to be upcycled back into other meal components. For example, we upcycle broccoli and cauliflower stems and use them to create cauliflower rice, soups, stews, sauces, and more. Runoff from cooked shrimp is turned into delicious shrimp bisques and rich, flavourful pasta sauces. Salmon skins are even turned into crispy dog treats from time to time!" says Spina.
In addition, all of their fresh meals are prepared with a closed-loop, zero percent food waste production process. The food scraps that can not be upcycled into meal components become food for nightcrawlers, a type of worm that is highly efficient in composting food residue. "We have a 10,000 square foot worm farm in the basement," says Spina proudly. "The Wormery, a partner of ours, is where the food scraps go. The worms eat the food really fast and then create castings, which is a very high-quality fertiliser." This nutrient-rich soil gets returned to the earth to start the cycle over again, creating a closed-loop production system.
Really Good Food!
Besides focusing on sustainability, ethey is committed to delivering fantastic food. The meals are carefully created by their chefs and tested by their team to ensure that it arrives at customers just as they made them. Every meal is prepared on order and immediately distributed. The hearty dishes are never frozen, ensuring that you get a freshly-cooked meal that is both healthy and wholesome.
Ethey is convenient for those who want to save time and live a more balanced lifestyle. They provide easy access to healthy meals, saving you hours in the kitchen each week.
Simply head to the ethey website and select from the various pre-cooked meal options. It works on a subscription model, which means you can have healthy meals delivered to your doorstep weekly. The boxes are delivered with insulation and ice packs to keep your meals chilled, both of which are fully recyclable. The meals range from $11.99 to $15.99 per meal, getting cheaper as box sizes increase. The order is placed, the meals are cooked, and then they are quickly sent to you to ensure everything is as fresh as when it was cooked.
In keeping with their commitment to sustainability, ethey recently updated their ice packs so that they are fully at-home recyclable. Even the liquid in the new packaging is recyclable. "Simply cut the corner, pour the contents down the drain, and recycle the packaging. You no longer need to keep them in your freezer to reuse, or throw them out if you don't need them," says Spina.
Ethey's Future Plans
Besides delivering their popular meals from coast to coast in Canada, ethey will soon be offering nutrition coaching on their website. This is ideal for those who are looking to go one step further and not just order healthy meals, but get guidance on nutrition and wellness as well.
Another exciting initiative is that ethey will be bringing the juice company, Blank Slate Wellness, in-house. Blank Slate juices will fully be produced in the company's facility, and tap into all of ethey's sustainable assets such as their worm farm, and research and development practices. This will make them a zero percent waste company too.
"It is great that we are currently the only meal preparation company that can ship coast to coast, and we are hoping that we will soon become a familiar brand in the cooked meal or meal preparation space across Canada," says Spina when discussing the future plans for ethey. "By leading the nation with a sustainably focused brand, we hope to help other brands become more sustainable themselves. We have this idea to bring other brands into our sustainable platform and resources, and help companies around us grow across the nation and grow sustainably."
To get a taste of ethey's delectable food, you can follow them on Instagram.
Media Contact:
Clive Vanderwagen, Writer
clive@mindfulmediapr.com
