Vicky Ha, founder of House of Dumplings, grew up making dumplings with her mother in a small apartment in Hong Kong.
"She used to say, if you are not going to make it, you are not going to eat it. My highest record of dumplings I ate as a teenager was 32 in one sitting," said Ha.
Ha became a chef, starting House of Dumplings almost 12 years ago, after inviting a few chef friends to her home, where each insisted that she should start to make her dumplings commercially. Ha went to Australia and worked a season harvesting bananas to save enough money to start House of Dumplings.
Reducing packaging is one of the biggest challenges within the food industry as it's an integral part of a brand’s ability to adhere to food safety regulations and ensure products don't suffer from freezer burn. This has led to a collaboration with Commonsense Organic and Refill Nation, where customers can bring their containers to these retailers and fill them with various flavours of Ha's dumplings, including Edamame & Hemp, Red Lentil & Kale, Chicken-Free Laksa, and Six Mushroom dumplings. These flavours are available in bulk bins, and customers pay by weight.
This concept reduces waste and allows consumers freedom to have multiple flavours of dumplings with one meal.
"I love the idea that people get to pick however many flavours they want and not restraint to our normal pre-packed number of dumplings. I wish more retailers would do it."
Using this model also reduces packing labour costs, reducing what consumers pay at the checkout. From a consumer perspective, this method saves them money and allows them greater choice and flexibility.
Ha said most rubbish in the bin is packaging, a challenging issue to overcome as packaging is an integral part of consumer convenience and choice. The balance that needs to be found with sustainability values will come down to packaging options available and alternative concepts such as refillables.
"Bulk bins are a great example. You grab what you need, not what the pack comes in. It is a huge way of reducing food waste.”
Read more on Vicky Ha's thoughts below on page 63:
