Naked Asian Grocer aims to tackle plastic problem in supermarkets

It’s something that everyone knows about – it’s even in this photo – but this big problem is largely ignored and isn’t going away.

A Melbourne couple have started a business that has seen them take on a huge problem with many foods in Asian supermarkets.

Jian Loh and Brian Ooi got the idea for their company, Naked Asian Grocer, when they tried to live more sustainably and began shopping in bulk. They were quickly struck by the lack of sustainable options for their favourite Asian foods.

“Every single time when we want to cook something, we were left with five or six different plastic bags – and it’s only the two of us,” Jian, 33, said.

“There are a lot of bulk stores, but unfortunately they cater to more Westernised ingredients. [When we started buying in bulk], that’s when we really saw the gap in sustainable packaging for Asian food.”

Jian and Brian started Naked Asian Grocer. Picture: Supplied

This led Jian and Brian, 34, to a light bulb moment and they started their business selling Asian foods in plastic-free packaging which is then delivered by mail.

“Our mission is to reduce as much plastic packaging in Asian ingredients. We want to break the cycle and provide better solutions,” Jian said.

As Australia’s first zero-waste Asian grocer, the Malaysian-born couple currently stock a small yet cherished selection of dry ingredients such as noodles, rice, snacks, flour, tea and cooking kits.

Their best-selling item is their ramen kit, and since February this year, they’ve proudly saved around 18,000 pieces of plastic – roughly translating to 85kg of waste – all while working full-time in other jobs. (Jian works in marketing and Brian is an engineer.)

Their best-selling item is their cook-at-home ramen kit.

The Naked Asian Grocer is the first to admit their solution is not perfect (yet) – some ingredients are difficult to source, many aren’t available in bulk packaging and some are only manufactured overseas.

But with dreams of opening a retail store that would cut out paper packaging and allow them to connect to their customers in person, Jian and Brian are dedicated to constantly evolving and bettering their business.

“In an ideal world, we’d have people bring in their own containers and we’d fill it with noodles or rice or whatever they need. So that’s the goal – and obviously not just one retail store. Dream big, we’re going big!” Jian said.

Right now, one of their biggest missions is introducing the concept of creating less waste to local Asian communities.

“In Malaysia, plastic is viewed as hygienic and as a security thing. It’s heightened culturally in Asia – so the idea of sustainability hasn’t fully grasped Asian communities yet,” Jian said.

But she is confident that the younger generation is slowly adopting this concept.

“I think so many documentaries on Netflix have helped to seal the deal too,” she said.

Another sustainability changemaker is Sydney’s Anita Vandyke. In her mid-20s, Chinese-born Anita was on the corporate ladder working as a rocket scientist, headed straight for burnout.

When she realised she wanted to do more with her life, Anita decided to make the switch to studying medicine, and it was through this move that led her to the world of living more minimally and sustainably.

Initially Anita lived more simply as a way to save money.

Then she got into living a more sustainable lifestyle.

“I did it [living frugally] during a time of economic need, rather than environmental. Going back to study full-time, I went from having two professional incomes, to having my husband support me through medical school. So I had to learn how to make ends meet,” she said.

“You can’t have healthy people without a healthy planet, to put it frankly. That was an important revelation to me.”

Almost a decade later, Sydney-based Anita, 35, is a junior doctor, an author and a mum. She’s also one of Australia’s favourite faces in sustainability, inspiring almost 100,000 people daily to live more consciously through her Instagram profile @rocket_science.

“I try to follow the motto ‘sustainability has to be sustainable for you’. It’s about making the effort, rather than seeking perfection. Small steps make a cumulative difference,” Anita said.

In finding sustainability, Anita also returned to her Chinese roots.

“Coming from a developing country and seeing this lavish wasteful lifestyle made me reflect on my roots and reflect what needs to change,” she said.

“[When I went back to studying], I had to go back to the frugal lessons that my migrant parents taught me – to waste not, want not, how to save money while preventing food waste, and how to not waste any of my resources, including time, money and planetary resources, too.

“We learned to appreciate the whole animal, nose to tail, and not be squeamish about it. We also embraced the second-hand economy – it wasn’t shameful for us growing up knowing our uniforms, textbooks and bags were second-hand.”

But Anita says it will take time for the sustainability movement to completely grasp Australia’s Asian community.

“We’re so caught up in surviving and trying to feed our families that sustainability is not always at the top of the agenda. But there is starting to be a revolution there, where they are saying ‘OK, hey, we can do better,’” she said.

Imogen Kars is a freelance writer.

This content is created in sponsorship with Volvo.