Shraman Mitra
Season 13 episode 3 of ‘Shark Tank’ saw Morrisville-based entrepreneur Dinesh Tadepalli present his range of edible cutlery aptly named IncrEDIBLE Eats. Presented as a proper and efficient substitute for plastic, Dinesh aims to reduce waste while giving his customers tasty spoons to munch on. The innovative and exciting product turned heads and made us look into the company in detail. Let’s find out more about IncrEDIBLE Eats, shall we?
IncrEDIBLE Eats: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
Surprisingly, the mastermind behind IncrEDIBLE Eats, Dinesh Tadepalli, did not have experience in the food industry prior to launching his product. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Electronics, and Communication from Anna University in Chennai before moving to the United States. Soon, he enrolled at the University of Southern California for a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. Following his education, Dinesh worked as a Design Engineer at several renowned companies before joining Intel in September 2018 as an SoC Design Manager.
However, the effects of plastic waste on the environment forced him to look at an unconventional and out-of-the-box solution. While at an ice cream shop with his daughter, Dinesh noticed that most patrons were throwing away the plastic spoons, increasing waste. Realizing that a significant portion of plastic waste comes from throwable cutlery, Dinesh began looking at a solution to the problem. Subsequently, after much brainstorming, he hit upon the brilliant idea of edible spoons, and thus, IncrEDIBLE Eats was born.
Dinesh describes the texture of his edible spoons as that of a biscotti and claims that it is made up of vegan-friendly grains. Moreover, the spoons have a sufficiently long shelf life of 1 year and can stay up to 25 minutes inside a hot meal without dissolving. Furthermore, the entire manufacturing process is mentioned as being sustainable in nature. Although his packaging uses some plastic that helps keep the edibles moisture-free, Dinesh said that his company had cut down on plastic usage wherever possible.
IncrEDIBLE Eats: Where Are They Now?
Although Dinesh quickly researched a solution and invented a perfect substitute for plastic cutlery, he did not have the required capital to start a company. However, unwilling to let go of his dream, Dinesh perfected his product and found a manufacturer before selling his house in California to generate capital. The budding entrepreneur even moved to Morrisville in North Carolina to save costs. However, his business soon began looking up, and Dinesh was surprised by the response to his unique solution.
Apart from selling direct to consumers, Dinesh also linked up with various ice cream shops and food services to get his products across to the consumers. With a boost in sales and interest, Dinesh realized that just manufacturing spoons would not cut it, and hence IncrEDIBLE Eats plans on manufacturing forks, chopsticks, knives, straws, and even bowls in the future. The edible spoons are available in different sweet and savory flavors, including plain, vanilla, chocolate, black pepper, and oregano chili.
The spoons are available on their website as well as retail giants Amazon, and a box of 20 large edible spoons will set you back by $7.99 (original cost $11.99). Moreover, Spoons 2.0 and Sporks can also be pre-ordered on the IncrEDIBLE Eats website for the price of $9.99 (originally $11.99) per box. Additionally, the website also allows wholesale dealers to buy stock directly from the company.
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