Name of the organisation: BreadPack
Sector: Environmental
Website: https://breadpack.pl/
Brief description of the organisation/initiative
BreadPacks are natural and ecological bowls, baked from bread. They are used to serve dishes, you can also eat them with a snack. In Poland, they are the only tasty alternative to bran and other ingredients that taste bad. BreadPacks is already at the stage of production and sale. It has its own recipe and baking technology in a semi-manual oven. A branch in Slovakia was also opened due to the great interest in the product in this country.
Challenge overview
The pandemic definitely hampered the development of the project. There were no events, the gastronomy was closed, and the BreadPacks target groups were not interested in using the product.
Establishment of the organisation/initiative/enterprise
A co-owner of the company brought an idea for a product of bread packs baked for the company Soup Culture from Ukraine. The bowls were used to pack food in food trucks, so that people could take the food to go but not litter the environment. However, the bowls were fresh only for 48 hours and the production required a lot of work. Angelika and Eugeniusz developed a new technology of durable and quick baking packs in Poland and together developed it as a business.
Management structure and governance
The business is for profit. It is run by partners. Eugo is responsible for technology, packaging, delivery and logistics. Angelika deals with administration, marketing and communication. A production person is also employed.
Principles of work, objectives and activities
The main area of activity is sales, communication with potential customers, marketing and advertising. On the other hand, it is the production and distribution of the product.
Target groups
The recipients are young people who buy street food, living in larger cities. The second group of recipients is agritourism, farms and mini-zoo-type places where parents and children stay. These are places where the emphasis is on technology and socially responsible solutions.
Producers of ready meals – recipients are people who choose healthy, responsibly packed ready meals – mainly young people from larger cities.
Innovation
The product itself, as well as the method of production, technology are innovative. Secondly, innovation is building a connection bridge between Poland and Ukraine, transfer of knowledge and cooperation between countries.
Impact and Evaluation
It is a socially responsible solution that reduces the amount of plastic. The product is 100% biodegradable and you can eat it right away.
Recommendations
If you know the technology, the product is very easy to transfer abroad. It is important to check whether there is a need for the product in a given country. It is a product targeted at richer and more developed regions. Currently, it is very popular in Slovakia.
Lessons Learned
Running a business teaches you to be persistent, patient and appreciate your efforts. There is also a greater sense of agency, more independence and more responsibility for decisions.
For Angelika, as a person previously working in NGOs and local governments, it was an encounter with a new environment where business and financial results count.
On the other hand, the company has a mission, the ingredients are of high quality, which is not always appreciated by customers and causes frustration that consumers are taking the easy way.
References
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.