- Peita was sick of opening the fridge to find wilted fruit and veg she’d bought just days earleir.
- Her mum suggested she try wrapping it a damp tea towel to help it stay fresher longer
- For years she experiementing with different material so see what worked best
- She created a prototype that helped produce last 10 days instead of two
- People raved about how her product has helped them save thousands of dollars
- Peita Pini tells her story…
Opening the fridge, I sighed at the sight of the wilted fruit and veg I’d bought just days ago.
“It’s such a waste,” I moaned to my husband, Joe.
Having grown up on acreage with parents who wasted nothing, I felt ashamed.
I tried to buy fresh produce in small quantities but no matter what I did, it would rot before we could get through it.
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“What sort of example are setting for our kids?” I sighed.
As a mum to Jordan, 21, Taylor, 18, twins Sierra and Jade, 10, and one-year old Hugo, I wanted to do my bit for the planet and save thousands by not throwing out so much food. Later that week, in September 2010, I spoke to my mum, Mishel, 64, about my grievance.
“Wrap the fruit and veg in a damp tea towel,” she said. “It will stay fresh for another couple of days.”
Amazingly, it worked, but I still wanted longer.
I started researching and experimenting with different materials, such as bamboo and hemp.
When I told mum what I was doing, she offered to help.
In 2014, after years of trial and error we created a prototype that worked.
The fruit and veg lasted ten days, rather than two.
We used three unique layers of non-toxic, unbleached, unseeded cotton, to make a bag, which you wet, before placing the fruit and veg inside.
The central layer held the bulk of the water, allowing the fruit and veggies to breathe and hydrate at their own pace.
“I can’t believe we’ve done it,” I beamed to mum.
We called it The Swag, after the iconic Australian bushman’s swag and handed it out to friends and family to try.
In August 2016, I posted about it on my Facebook page, saying the product was for sale, and within three hours we had 80 orders.
“This is huge,” Mum said, jumping around the house with me.
People started sharing rave reviews on how it was saving them money and time because they were shopping less.
One woman even said she’d lost weight, as she no longer impulse bought junk food, as she didn’t have to go to the shops as much.
In the first year of its release, we made half a million in revenue and so far, we have sold over a million bags.
As well as making us millions, we’ve saved households up to $2000 a year on food wastage and we’ve contributed to rescuing 3,144 people from human trafficking, after donating to the charity, Destiny rescue.
Who would have thought a tea towel would make such a difference.
