Melbourne-based colleagues Aniyo Rahebi and Catherine Hutchins were so inspired by a rubbish bin overflowing with disposable coffee and other drink cups that they decided to take matters into their own hands. And so, Good-Edi began.

After hours and hours in the kitchen refining the process and the product, the start-up was ready. It now takes the form of an edible, plastic-free, biodegradable cup that can be used in place of the common polyethylene-lined paper cups, which generally end up in landfill.

Good-Edi raised roughly $148,000 through crowd-funding in 2021 and currently produces 500 cups a day for clients around Australia. The cups work for hot and cold drinks and consist of a blend of wheat bran, rye flour, sugar, salt, coconut old, oat bran, and water.

“There isn’t a guidebook on how to make an edible cup, so it was a big challenge,” Catherine told Bloomberg.

“We had lots and lots of leaking cups.”

Now, the cups will hold their form and remain crisp after holding a hot drink for 40 minutes and can also hold a cold drink without leaking for around eight hours.

Although some customers might have preferred the cups to be a sweet treat, Good-Edi made the choice not to make them too sweet.

“We deliberately didn’t make it sweet because we didn’t want to impact the flavour of the coffee,” Catherine said.

Despite this, the brand also offers a cup that is chocolate coated and is looking to expand its reach with more options and flavours soon. Good-Edi is also looking to expand its output this year.