A new edible spoon is taking aim at one of hospitality’s biggest waste problems. Street Food Hub speaks to eddys founder Edward about innovation, sustainability and the future of food service cutlery.
Following the launch of its edible spoon earlier this year, eddys is positioning itself as one of the most innovative sustainability solutions to enter the single-use cutlery market.
Designed to tackle the growing environmental impact of disposable utensils, eddys combines practicality with flavour — allowing customers to quite literally eat their cutlery.
Created by a sustainably driven family business, the product is the result of three years of research and development and has already attracted attention from across hospitality, QSR and street food sectors.
We spoke to founder Edward to learn more about the journey behind eddys, the challenges of creating edible cutlery, and how he sees the future of sustainable food service evolving.
The Idea Behind eddys
Q. What was the original moment or problem that inspired you to create eddys?
A. It was prior to the ban on single use plastic cutlery and seeing the lumps of plastic being used in a particular QSR restaurant and wondering, in a world increasingly focused on sustainability, whether you could have your spoon and eat it too!
Q. Why did you decide to focus on edible cutlery specifically, rather than other packaging?
A. It was a big problem with around four billion items of single use plastic cutlery being used each year and only about 10% being recycled. It also offered the opportunity to get right in front of consumers in a fun and directly engaging way.
Q. After three years of research & development, what was the biggest challenge in creating an edible spoon?
A. The most important point was structural integrity as if the spoon kept breaking it would be a much harder sell. We therefore went through a number of iterations before getting to the design we have today.
Turning Concept Into Product
Q. What makes eddys different from other eco-friendly cutlery alternatives currently on the market?
A. You can eat it! Since the ban on single use plastic cutlery most retailers have opted for a wooden alternative but ultimately to make these spoons trees still need to be cut down which can’t be a very planet friendly option.
Q. How important was taste?
A. Ensuring our spoons were structurally fit for purpose was the first objective but secondly it was to make them delicious so consumers would enjoy what they were eating whilst making a sustainable choice.
Q. Can you explain the five grains and seeds used, and why they were chosen?
A. We chose a blend of chia, poppy, golden flax, quinoa and amaranth to give the spoons a depth of flavour, texture and the nutritional health benefits derived from those ingredients.
Q. How does eddys help businesses reduce waste compared to compostable or wooden cutlery?
A. You can eat an eddys!
Sustainability Meets Commercial Reality
Q. Why do you think single-use cutlery has been such a difficult problem for the food industry to solve?
A. It is a low cost, purely functional item that is simply there for convenience. With eddys we have sought to create a ‘spoon with benefits’ that is delicious first and sustainable always.
Q. What kind of feedback have you received from early testers and partners so far?
A. It’s been very positive so far with customers loving the originality of the idea, the brand values and most importantly the taste.
Q. Why did you choose to launch with The After School Cookie Club?
A. They are one of the fastest growing bakery brands in the UK, family run like eddys and share our business values.
Q. What types of businesses are showing the most interest in eddys so far?
A. We are at an early stage and using the launch as a platform to forge partnerships with like-minded businesses.
Q. Are there plans to expand beyond spoons into other types of edible cutlery?
A. Yes!
What’s Next for eddys
Q. What advice would you give to independent food businesses looking to improve sustainability without increasing costs too much?
A. Start with the low hanging fruit first and build from there. There are many low cost solutions out there to help save both money and carbon.
Q. Finally — how does it feel to know people can literally eat your product?
A. That is what we intended so it feels great to know people can literally have their spoon and eat it too!
As pressure continues to grow on food businesses to reduce waste without compromising customer experience, innovations like eddys highlight how sustainability and creativity can work hand in hand.
By rethinking something as everyday as a spoon, eddys demonstrates how small changes can create meaningful impact across the hospitality and street food landscape.
With conversations already underway with major operators and growing interest from the industry, eddys is a clear example of how the future of food service is being shaped not only by what we eat — but how we eat it.
Find out more about eddys here:
https://www.teameddys.com/
@teameddys
