My maternity leave side hustle is saving so much money on groceries

A new mum was inspired by her baby’s cloth nappy when she came up with her very successful idea.

For years, Fiona made attempts to eat healthier and have more salad items in her fridge - but it came at a cost.

“I wanted to have a little bit of baby spinach in my salads but when I bought the big packs, which were better value for money, half of it would always rot before I could use it,” the 37-year-old from Sydney tells Kidspot. 

Fiona tried numerous methods to avoid the rotting, such as keeping the spinach in a salad spinner with a paper towel, or keeping it in a cotton bag.

“I found the spinner still caused condensation and rotting, and the cotton bag dried out too quickly so the spinach went limp,” she explains.

“At the time, I gave up, and accepted that I would never get it right.”

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Produce Pod is a clever idea that a mum has come up with. Image: Supplied

A clever idea while on maternity leave

Fast forward to 2021 - when Fiona was in the last few months of maternity leave with her first child, Monty - the new mum had a lightbulb moment while feeling the fabric that lined the outside of her son’s cloth nappies.

“The PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) material is breathable but waterproof, so I started wondering if I could use this fabric in the fridge, and researched if anyone had tried it before,” she says.

To test her theory out, Fiona bought cotton fabric from Spotlight to make a bag, and for the outer layer, used a waterproof PUL bag that came with an order of her cloth nappies (normally used for soiled nappies).

“I completely improvised,” she laughs. “I didn’t even know how to sew, so I just wrapped the veg in the cotton, then put it inside the PUL bag, and gave it a go.”

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The results astonished the mum-of-one far beyond her expectations.

“I had a bunch of mint which I bought for a new recipe I wanted to try, but I got busy and never made it,” she remembers.

“I completely forgot about the mint until three weeks later and expected to have to throw it away, but it was literally pristine, like I’d just bought it. I was stunned.”

Fiona continued the experiment to test just how effective her makeshift product was, and again, was left surprised and excited about her discovery.

“The mint lasted six weeks,” she says.

“Some of the leaves had blackened but only a small amount, and the rest of the bunch was completely fine. Nothing had rotted. I was so inspired by that, I tried lots of other things. I managed to keep a cos lettuce in perfect condition for seven weeks.”

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While Fiona shops for fruit and vegetables on a weekly basis, it was herbs and items such as spring onions which came in the most handy to last for longer periods.

“I would often want to have spring onion in the fridge, but we don’t use enough to have to buy a bunch every week,” she says.

“It’s a real money and food saver, not to have things go back before you’re ready to use them.”

While Fiona knew she had solved a very common problem, it was not easy deciding to turn her idea into a possible business when her son had just turned one year old.

“At that point, I didn’t really want to start a business because I was just coming to terms with how I would juggle just going back to part time work,” Fiona, who works as a criminal defence lawyer with legal aid, says.

“But when I saw that no one else was doing this, I knew I had to try to be the first.” 

Veggies stay fresh longer which means no more rushing out to buy more. Image: Supplied

The bag that will save you a heap on groceries

Determinedly, she invested $20,000 and toiled away every nap time she could while still working as a lawyer to launch Produce Pod 12 months later, in November, 2022, with the help of sister, Laura, who created the bags’ graphic designs.

“I had no idea whether the idea would take off, so it was a big risk for sure.”

The Produce Pod, which retails for $38.99 (and is machine washable), fits everything from two cos lettuce to a head of cauliflower and broccoli. It can be placed in any part of the fridge, and the only prep required is dampening the inner cotton bag before placing any type of vegetables inside, and repeating that step about once a week or whenever the bag becomes completely dry. 

“It’s surprisingly spacious,” Fiona says.

“You can fit quite a lot. I’ve also used them for grapes and apples, and they work for that too.”

The packs that will save you a heap of money. Image: Supplied

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An impressive $55K in the bank

Without any advertising, word of Produce Pod spread on social media, and after just over a year in business, Fiona has sold more than 2,000 bags and made an impressive $55,000. 

“At the start, I was excited just to sell one or two a week, then one day, someone on Instagram recommended it and I sold 250 in 48 hours which was all the stock I had left back in June,” she says of her best-ever sales period.

“Initially I thought I had been hacked, then I realised what was happening. It was crazy trying to dispatch all of those so quickly. I was also thrilled because it was something I had created. To hear so many people rave about how long people’s veggies were lasting was so validating.”

Her side hustle has grown so much that Fiona is now able to outsource her order dispatching, while she juggles her legal career and motherhood.

“I feel like it could be - and should be - on supermarket shelves one day,” she says of Produce Pod’s future potential.

“But I’m in no hurry to rush things. I don’t have sales goals and I just want to grow it slowly.”

Originally published as My maternity leave side hustle is saving so much money on groceries