A climate tech startup developed by a fashion designer transforms food waste into coffee cups and cutlery that quickly decompose into compost after use

Little green panda was founded by Manon Beauchamp-Tardieu, who launched her sideline while working as an accessories fashion designer at Zara.

Her sustainable packaging startup is revolutionizing single-use takeaway products by making packaging from food waste, which then decomposes in 90 days.

She started the business with reusable bamboo straws and it grew quickly. When the subsequent ban on single-use plastic bags was introduced, Manon realized that there was a huge demand for sustainable alternatives.

After meeting a team of young scientists at a networking event who shared her passion for sustainability, they worked to create a plastic-like material made from upcycled food waste to replace plastic.

The success of their efforts was evident as thousands of locations began using their sustainable products and customers began asking for more.

They took it a step further and introduced the world’s first compostable coffee cutlery made from upcycled coffee grounds collected from cafes.

The Little Green Panda plastic-free products. Photo: Delivered

This pioneering solution quickly gained traction and became a huge success, replacing the traditional wooden and bamboo cutlery options currently available on the market.

Australians throw away about 2.7 million coffee cups every day.

In the bigger picture, the world produced 390.7 million tons of plastic in 2021 and 8 million tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year.

said Beauchamp-Tardieu her favorite moment while building Little green panda was when she saw their house compostable sugar cane straws come to life and receive positive feedback from our first customers.

“It was a true endorsement of all the hard work, dedication and many hours we put into bringing our idea to life,” she said.

“Seeing people enjoy and appreciate our product is a truly satisfying experience, and it motivates us to continue our mission to create better sustainable and innovative solutions for the packaging industry.”

In their latest product launch, they introduced The Friendly Cups,’ made of water-based nanotechnology that reacts when it comes into contact with liquids.

The cups contain no bioplastic or plastic lining, making them an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to disposable cups.

The product was launched in February and the first container load of cups sold out in less than 24 hours.

The challenge for compostable products is that only 0.13% of commercially compostable packaging is properly disposed of.

While many products are labeled “compostable,” they will only break down under specific conditions that are often not present in a typical household compost bin.

This leads to confusion and frustration among consumers who want to make environmentally conscious choices.

Beauchamp-Tardieu said Green Little Panda is at the forefront of offering home compostable packaging designed to disappear like a piece of fruit. Ttheir products decompose naturally in any bin and leave no harmful residue.

The anatomy of the friendly cup. Photo: Delivered