Algramo: New Start-up, New Sustainability
Irritation runs through me as I try to get all the items on my grocery list. My 4 roommates decided that they want to eat spaghetti tonight, but the smallest pack I can find is 1 kg, enough for at least 10 people. Same problem when I try to buy meat. Either it comes in a single-person package or it is enough to feed my entire street. Bon. We will be eating spaghetti the rest of the week. It may be quite an investment now, but at least we dine a couple more days for free. Now here is where the problem starts. With me being an average Dutch student it is no problem to invest such money today and therefore don’t have to spend anything the rest of the week. In the case of spaghetti and meat, it is even cheaper as the single person packages cost you relatively up to 40% more on average. Good savings that are spent well on partying. But what if I didn’t have the money to buy family packages? What if I only received a few coins a day, just enough to feed me for that day? What if I lived off $4.00 a day, and on top of that even have to pay the poverty tax?
In the underdeveloped parts of our world people often have to live off the money they earn that very day. Think again when walking past a little kid trying to sell you some weird toy or souvenir, he might be trying to earn his meal for the day (on the other hand, it could also be the case that this is spent on cigarettes or other bag things but let’s be positive for once). When this kid’s mom takes the money to the supermarket, she won’t be able to buy big packages, as this would be too much of an investment. So every day new food has to be bought. Say they buy 500 grams of rice every day for 4 days, paying 1 euro per pound. That is 4 euro’s in total, whereas buying a 2 kg pack would have only cost 2,40 euro’s. This phenomenon is called the poverty-tax. Let me introduce you to a company trying to tackle the so-called poverty tax. The start-up company Algramo was formed in 2011 when owner José Manuel Moller lived in one of the lesser neighborhoods of Santiago de Chile. Having a low income and only buying food for the day itself, he discovered the relatively high price of smaller packages. Determined that this relative extra fee you pay on small formats shouldn’t be the case for people already living in great poverty, Moller was inspired to make a business plan. In 2012 the real first investment came and Algramo’s idea was presented. A prototype machine, functioning as a dispenser, was developed after being inspired by the idea of a refill vending machine. The process is simple. Households can buy plastic containers from Algramo, which last for years. Once empty, these containers can be re-used and filled with the same product again. This can be done at the vending machines that Algramo has placed all around several underdeveloped neighborhoods of Santiago de Chile. The products such as detergents, rice and oil are bought at wholesaler amounts and then can be sold by Algramo at fair prices. Using this system food can be bought daily without having the extra costs for smaller packages. Currently there are more than 1,000 Algramo dispensers found around the neighborhoods of Santiago and yet more to come.
The vending machines of Algramo could be implemented in local stores anywhere; the poverty tax is a problem in all underdeveloped parts of the world. But next to solving this inequality issue the dispensers could provide a solution for another great problem that generation Y is facing. As our pace of life increases, our time to put effort into many daily activities will decrease accordingly. Fast food restaurant work with increasing amounts of trash, 4 million Starbucks cups are thrown away every day and yet we still believe that the world is becoming more sustainable. Studies suggest that the total waste of the human being will rise by 70% over the next ten years. Try tracking your trash during 1 week. Every little piece of paper or packaging, collect it in a bag, then realize that in a few years time you will have almost two bags. And so will the rest of humanity. Implementing the vending machines of Algramo all over the world could reduce some waste; if the idea is developed even further it could make a big difference. Already some bio supermarkets sell with refill packages, but with all honesty they are still too inefficient to make the change. Having the Algramo machines in your daily supermarket, however, would mean easier access and therefore a whole new customer base.
Algramo is not yet ready for a worldwide implementation. Moller rather focuses on the 73% of the people in South-America that live under the poverty line before thinking about expansion to Western world, even though several offers from Germany have been made. “It is important to keep to your values and beliefs and not be tempted by the addictive big money in the business world. Whatever you do, stay grounded.”
The idea seems so simple and is yet so effective and provides a clear vision for the future. With millions of start-ups slowly taking over the new market of demand for sustainability, when will the big Western companies finally really start following?
Powered by:
Algramo website – visit fore more information and contact
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/10/30/global-waste-on-pace-to-triple
http://www.ask.com/food/many-cups-coffee-starbucks-sell-day-30165505f1ced767
- Business attire, a thing of the past? - June 13, 2017
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years? - May 29, 2017
- A Cashless Society - May 15, 2017