Love Your Business has announced that entrepreneurs Amee Ritchie and Jake Elliot-Hook, founders of S’wheat, the world’s first reusable water bottle made from plants, will speak to their first in person gathering for some time.
Michelle Brown of Michelle Brown PR who founded the networking group mastered the art of Zoom meetings and kept the group going and expanding over the last two years, using the break out rooms as a very good substitute for the in person events.
S’wheat have recently expanded their product range, created three jobs and the company plants a tree for every bottle sold and give a percentage of profits to eco charities
The Love Your Business (LYB) event will take place at Black Ivy in Bruntsfield on Thursday 25 August.
The group founded in 2018 is aimed at helping businesses share contacts, referrals and build their network, and also raise money for various charity partners, which include Make 2nds Count, Support in Mind Scotland, Invisible Cities and currently, Epilepsy Scotland.
LYB has attracted over 150 speakers from around the world, sharing inspiring stories and valuable business tips, including Californian-based eco-entrepreneur Paul Tasner, founder of PulpWorks, Chris van der Kuyl CBE, Chairman and Co-Founder of 4J Studios, developers of the multi-award-winning Minecraft Console editions, former co-founder of Social Bite and business coach, Alice Thompson and Larah Bross, founder of Bross Bagels.
Amee and Jake will be the first ‘in person’ speakers and will tell the story of their entrepreneurial journey which began four years ago when they were studying, after seeing the number of single-use plastic bottles that were being discarded by students.
They carried out extensive research into the industry and discovered key issues which put people off using reusable bottles, including that they were too heavy, difficult to clean and easily broken. With no funds, except their student loans, or knowledge about how to run a company, they embarked upon a mission to develop a reusable bottle that was practically designed using sustainably sourced wheat straw and plant-based materials – that would also give back to the planet.
The company got off to a flying start following a pre-sale crowdfunding campaign with a goal of raising £10,000 that reached £22,000 worth of sales within 30 days, and an appearance on a Channel 4 TV show, resulting in thousands of orders from around the world.
S’wheat, who have continued to adapt and expand their products over the years, have just launched a new black bottle and are unveiling a range of lunchboxes in September.
They have also expanded into co-branding corporate partnerships with clients including University of St Andrews, Edinburgh College, construction company Morgan Sindall and DIRTEA, allowing them to create three jobs to help grow the business.
Their core mission remains the same today as it did when they started, to reduce the amount of plastic in our oceans, which is why they plant a trackable native tree with Ecologi for every bottle sold to give back to the earth and offset carbon emissions.
Michelle said: “We are delighted to be back at Black Ivy this month for our first face-to-face networking event since the start of the pandemic, especially with Amee and Jake from S’wheat as our speakers.
“It will be great to hear about their entrepreneurial journey which started as students with no money or business experience to adapting and expanding their successful business and creating jobs within four years, with two of those during lockdowns, all whilst trying to reduce the amount of plastic in our oceans, which is hugely commendable and inspiring.”
Amee said: “We are so excited to be a part of Love Your Business at Black Ivy this month so we can share S’wheat’s journey. It has been so rewarding to watch our business grow over the last four years and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.”
Tickets cost £20 plus booking fee with 50% of all sales going to the Love Your Business 2022 Charity Partner, Epilepsy Scotland
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
