Read Gary's letter and the official press release.
Leading a decade of change and we are only just at the beginning!
Just over 10 years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet up with a dreamer that never saw the challenges the world faces as insurmountable, who never let anything get in the way of his dream to preserve the planet. Meeting Richard introduced me to a world were prioritisation of the planet and its people came before all else.
My entrepreneurial experience together with Rich's utopian ideals combined to create what we have today.
Together, we became focused on creating awareness of the devastating environmental effects of plastic and influencing widespread behavioural change. Our vision was to create products from rapidly renewable, plant-based raw materials. Naively, back in 2008, we thought this would be accepted by all manufacturers and businesses. Surely they wanted the same change, the same future that we did?
What we saw was a rather ugly truth. Very early on – the two of us sitting at a trestle table, alone in an office with a staff of one – we faced closed doors and objections to our philosophy daily.
In fact, for two years we constantly had to find capital just to keep our doors open until we could secure customers who supported our dream and sustainability goals. We were determined to make a difference. For years, our business made no sense financially but we loved what we did and never ever thought of giving up.
Fast-forward to 2018, and I have to say "wow, what a ride." I won't bore you with the events of the last decade. I will, however, note that our success is only possible because of the amazing people that we live in Australia and New Zealand.
It was the consumer that started appreciating our philosophy – the person on the street who started recognising our efforts and pushed the industry towards more sustainable practices. We are very proudly made by Australians and New Zealanders, and we have created real change because of this support.
I want to also acknowledge our pioneering partners: the coffee roasters, distributors, caterers, retailers and chains. From the beginning, their amazing support has enabled our business to bring sustainable packaging solutions to the market, to continually innovate and to lead real, meaningful change.
So, why do I write this? I write this as we have announced a new partnership with Swedish business Duni AB that enables us to rapidly launch the BioPak range of sustainable packaging solutions across Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
Why? Because we want to change the world for the better.
With our community, customers and partners in Australia and New Zealand, we have achieved real change, real sustainable solutions, changes in unsustainable habits. And we want to continue to drive change on a global stage.
Our team proudly has its roots in Australia and New Zealand and we want to take our brand (and movement) worldwide. We would love to create an internationally recognised brand that all Australians and New Zealander's can be proud of. That is the opportunity our partnership with Duni AB represents.
We have immediate plans for the Asia Pacific region and have opportunities in Europe with Duni's existing infrastructure. That is just the start.
At the same time, our loyalty, commitment and energy will only improve for our family of customers, suppliers and staff here in Australia and New Zealand.
We are still dreamers. We are more committed than ever. We are passionately, but carefully, embarking on the beginning of the next stage of our journey. As in the past, as we reach a goal, it is forgotten and the next one set...
- Gary Smith, CEO BioPak
