Saumya and Shivam were genuinely interested in authentic and safe coffee pods, so they started Caramelly when they found badly dented and almost expired pods on their trip to India in 2018.
Based in Munich and supported by their mother back in India, the duo created the only authentic online store to buy Nespresso coffee capsules, pods, machines and European specialty coffee in India.
Caramelly seeks ways to make a difference and is committed to doing business responsibly. The duo does not stop at selling the Nespresso products only; they ensure the sustainability of their coffee pods venture through a comprehensive program. So, the Caracycle program was introduced at Caramelly with the goal of making sure one less thing goes into our landfills.
As a sector that does not get enough attention in the country, the creators faced a number of challenges while entering the field of recycling coffee pods.
“We had no clue where to recycle pods in India. We got in touch with various recycling vendors and they all quoted insanely high. It took us 3-4 months to find a good recycling company, says Shivam. The recycling rate in the initial phase was very low. People were hesitant to incur shipping cost without any incentive attached. To tackle this phenomenon, they started rewarding Caracyclers with a gift card worth ₹250 everytime they recycle. “It’s a way to thank them for helping us make our planet a cleaner, greener place!” adds Saumya.
Becoming a Caracycler is a somewhat lengthy but interesting process. People accumulate 100 used pods and send those to the Caracycle recycling facility in Bengaluru. Once the recycling facility receives the pods, they update a Google sheet and they issue a gift card to their customers as a token of gratitude which they can redeem towards buying anything on the Caramelly website.
The average coffee lover can lay their hands on everything needed for the perfect daily cuppa from Caramelly. Starting from Coffee Frothers to Coffee Pressers, they have it all. You can also find a cup or mug that would fit your cupboard from the website itself. Not to forget the excellent Pods and Capsules from Nespresso, needed for the Caracycle program.
The coffee grinds from used capsules are further sent to farmers so they can farm more sustainably. In the near future, the duo plans to send marketing emails around recycling more often and also do social media campaign around Caracycle. “We will also be experimenting with various rewarding strategy to bump up the recycling rate. Apart from simple recycling, we’re also working on creating interesting sculpture with some of the aluminium, which will then be sold to raise funds to plant trees. As a further bonus, we send the coffee grinds to local farms where they use it to enrich the soil! All in all, the Planet will thrive,” Shivam concludes.
Read More: The Pedra Preta Coffee Agroforestry Model
