Spudos: Vegan Crisps in Refillable Tubs
Most of us like munching on crisps (and you can now recycle bags at supermarket bag recycling bins, as crisp packs are one of the most common form of litter).
Crisps are choking hazards for young children, also don’t give leftovers to pets, garden birds or wildfowl, due to salt and garlic. Read more on food safety for people and pets.
Spudos is an innovative company, that is kind of like a zero-waste version of those old packs of Smiths Crisps, where you had the tiny blue sachet of salt inside to shake into the bag.
Sold in refillable tubs, you then buy refill compostable packs and ‘bottles of ‘spud dust’ to flavour your crisps (everything sold is vegan-friendly, despite the meaty, cheesy and prawny names!)
This company began when two successful web developers who had managed to ‘zero waste’ most of their lives, realise that the one thing they could not give up was crisps in the office!
They had no idea how to change this, so fortunately hired a ‘crisp consultant’ and quickly got to work!
Fed up with buying bags of crisps that had ‘two crisps inside and lots of crumbs’, they hired a sustainable farm that saves rainwater and runs on solar power, to produce thick crunchy crisps right to the end of the bag.
In a nation (UK) that eats a whopping 6 billion bags of crisps a year, something needs to change. So Spudos ships their spuds to North London, where they are hand-cooked and packed into home compostable bags, with no food waste.
The bags are strong and greaseproof with zip locks to keep crisps fresh, then just compost the bag at end of use (including the lock).
Produced in the UK, the Spud Dust shakers are made with 30% recycled ocean-bound plastic, as are the labels, and both can be easily recycled.
The sachets inside are compostable, plus you can buy refillable plastic tubs to keep crisps fresh for as long as possible (these tubs last for years and again can be recycled).
Once open, keep your Spud Dust tightly sealed and it will last a couple of months (break up clumps with a fork and give it a shake, keeping in a cool dark place.
You can buy a starter kit that includes the crisps and bags, a tub and Spud Dust, then just buy refills thereafter. The flavours include:
- Salt & Vinegar
- Chip Shop Curry
- Crispy Bacon
- Döner Kebab Spud
- Nooch (vegan cheese) & Onion
- Prawn Cocktail
- Chicken
- Nduja (vegan pork)
For wholesale orders, Spudos will collect tubs and shakers in London. Outside this area just send them to the company for reuse.
The sealed Spudos last around 16 weeks, and most shops sell 3 tubs per month, so they won’t sit around getting stale. If using a dispenser for a zero waste shop, the crisps should stay fresh for a week.
Although millions of people in England enjoy a bag of crisps, most brands contain way too much salt (‘green light’ recommendations are usually for mini-bags or small portions of bigger bags). Child nutritionists say the best choice is Kettle Unsalted Chips.
