Canadian organization partners with wine extraordinaire Gary Vaynerchuk, to produce compostable, recyclable and consumable food products.
With a sustainable, 0% food waste business, Nick Spina and Kyle Standaert are turning heads in the meal delivery industry. Ethey, a one-of-a-kind Canadian culinary company dedicated to providing Chef-prepared, nutritious meals cross-country, operates in the same 35,000 square-foot production facility as Spina’s first brainchild, LiveFit Foods.
The difference between LFF and Ethey is that the latter is focused on more of a hearty, flavourful menu; and – while it’s a departure from the fitness-based service LFF provides, Ethey is just as environmentally conscious, saving the planet one worm at a time. The basement of the production facility is where The Wormery is located, their partner-in-crime against food waste.
Having created a closed-loop production process, Spina and Standaert, with the help of their partner; famed Belarusian venture capitalist Gary Vaynerchuk, are feeding off the organic decision to “produce a product that has the feel-good factor.” Speaking while en route to an Ethey business meeting, Spina identifies the benefits of his new venture. “We’re able to quantify that every meal we deliver saves about a pound of food waste, as well as greenhouse gas emissions,” he says. “We also save a ton of energy with every meal because we’re able to make them en masse, which means that our bigger pieces of equipment are more energy efficient.”
Worm Food:
So how do the worms come into play? Standaert points out that The Wormery in the basement of the 30,000 square foot production floor is the source whereby the food scraps are fed to the tiny invertebrates, who devour the leftovers in quick fashion. They then produce a high density, high quality fertilizer (castings) which then gets delivered to the farms where the food originally came from. This thus serves as another revenue stream, meaning Ethey becomes more efficient. “We’re focused on saving one billion tonnes’ worth of food waste,” Standaert says. “This way, we align with our consumers’ conscious efforts that they’re contributing positively to the planet.”
How Ethey Works:
Standaert linked-up with Spina in the summer of 2021 after 10 years of friendship, and he is excited for the future of the company that has served over 2.7 million chef-made meals to satisfied customers across Canada. He explains the process of Ethey’s delivery service. “Shipping coast to coast from our facility in London, Ontario we can get a package – for example, to B.C. within 24 hours of the food being cooked,” he says. “We have three delivery days a week, so people can choose between Tuesday, Thursday, or Sunday.” Consumers can choose from a selection of 100+ all-natural dishes, which can then be headed and ready-to-eat in three minutes.
Compostable, Consumable, Recyclable:
Carrying on the unique, and environmentally-conscious philosophy that Ethey personifies, their packages are compostable, consumable, and recyclable. “By fully consumable, I mean our ice packs are being made out of juice. So you can actually rip open a corner of it when you’re finished the drink, and actually drink the packaging,” Standaert says. “Every corner of this business is how we can be as sustainable as possible. We’re really trying not just to be 99% in every area, but 100%.”
Media Contact:
Sarshar Hosseinnia, Editor
