Ello Jello

Ello Jello edible cups in orange, green tea and lychee flavours / Source: Ello Jello

AsiaFood & BeveragePackagingSeaweed

2 MINUTE READ

Kaltrina Bylykbashi

WHAT WE SAY:

Will this edible cup change the world? Honestly, no. It will not even transform the beverage industry given its limited scale. But it is fun.

And more importantly, very affordable and a memorable example, highlighting that natural materials have a range of properties you can explore as a designer - beyond simply being a like-for-like plastic replacement.

KEY FACTS:

Evoware is an Indonesian social enterprise, which creates products to support local Seaweed farmers.
The company’s flagship product is its edible Ello Jello cup made from seaweed and plant-based materials.
The cups come in various flavours and scents, such as lychee, orange, peppermint and green tea, but do not alter the taste of your drinks.
Evoware’s products have previously won the Circular Design Challenge, part of Ellen McArthur’s New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize.
The cups cost approximately IDR 19,000 (USD 1) per 100 millilitre cup.

Ello Jello edible cups / Source: Ello Jello

Ello Jello edible cups are made from seaweed and plant-based materials / Source: Ello Jello

DIVE DEEPER:

Ello Jello cups can be stored for seven days in the refrigerator or three days at room temperature.
Each cup biodegrades at home within 30 days.
Evoware sells a ‘make your own’ version to businesses that want to resell the product, which includes the cups’ ingredients in a powdered form and moulds.
Evoware claims to have reduced over 15 million plastic items through its product.
Evoware was founded in 2016 and campaigns for sustainability through collaborations with communities and businesses to encourage people to evaluate their habits.
The company also creates other everyday products made of 100% seaweed powder, such as food wraps and sachets for dry foods.

Key Design Considerations:

Stories are good, scale is better

While we love Ello Jello’s positioning, the reality is it is a small scale operation. Evoware products are made by hand, meaning its production is time-intensive. Each cup takes 40 minutes to make and the company currently only makes 100 cups at a time. The price is also significantly higher than plastic, making them mainly suitable for smaller marketing activations, rather than the sustained, mass market alternative we so desperately need.

How can you support local ecosystems?

Having said that, we also love that Evoware’s founders are Indonesians with a front row seat to the destruction plastic has caused and a passionate desire to empower the local seaweed industry. Evoware might not have the scale of a giant multinational, but it is important to support organisations like it, who bring deep local knowledge and impact.