Behind every eco brand is a fascinating story of how and why it was created. At the Australian Big Bite Creations, the love of food, design and protecting the environment all merged into amazing lifestyle products such as the beautiful bamboo food containers. They aim to reduce the bad stuff such as plastic and toxic dyes and replace them with kinder alternatives while keeping it fun and not too serious. The founder Seonaidh also shares her top tips for a more environmentally friendly life!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Seonaidh Murphy and I am originally from Perth, Western Australia. I just moved to Sydney after an extensive sourcing trip through Asia looking for suppliers and manufacturers for alternatives to plastics. I have spent over 10 years applying the knowledge from my background within arts & design, fashion, textile design and graphic design to the food and beverage and hospitality industries, which in the end turned out to be an eco brand for food lovers. It just seemed to be the right fit and there was a little gap in the market that I decided to sneak on in to.
What is the story behind the name?
When I started out I thought I was going down the path of fashion, textiles, and homewares, and called the business Soft Constructions. Only within the last year, I rebranded into Big Bite Creations. The idea behind the name and branding is that its fun and not too serious. When it comes to inspiring people to become more eco-conscious you can have fun with it, it doesn’t always have to be doom and gloom and shocking people with statistics and horrible imagery. I think it’s more important to engage them with a product that is enjoyable to use and just happens to be more eco-friendly. As soon as people feel overwhelmed they just give up. I think inspiring lots of people to do a little bit to become more eco-conscious and make better choices is better than a couple of people going hardcore plastic free overnight.
How did you come up with the idea of making eco-friendly products?
I’ve never been a particularly wasteful person and I think that has a lot to do with my upbringing. My dad is the kind of person that will trim the mold off cheese and vegetables rather than throw it away. My mum rewashes sponges, cloths and glad bags in the kitchen. I don’t know how much of it was done to save the environment and how much was about saving money but hey they were good at it (and still are). Without even being aware of it, the idea of making the most of what you have has just become ingrained in me.Also, many of my past art and fashion projects were centralized on recreating something beautiful out of something that had been discarded. For example, I created a collection out of cutting room scraps, old blankets, and rags. While that was all well and good, the hard part was trying to work out how to incorporate those processes into a business. Having worked in the food industry, I saw a little niche where there was demand for eco products that were well designed and affordable.
What is your favorite meal?
This is a tricky one. I have a lot of favorites! But I guess I would say my favorite type of meal are the get-togethers with friends and family to have a long table lunch at someone's house, where everyone pitches in. There is definitely something special about sharing and preparing food together that makes the meal so much more enjoyable.
What are your four best tips for an eco-friendly lifestyle?
Don’t be overwhelmed and try to change the world overnight
Think creatively about how to utilize “waste”. For example, use your veggie scraps to make vegetable stock, and keep your old jars and containers and re-use
Try to buy your fruit and veg seasonally from local farmers markets
Educate yourself on how to store your fruit and veggies so they last for as long as possible
Use reusable containers, drink bottles, lunch boxes, bags etc where possible